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US weekly jobless claims fall for second week
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published : 31 Dec 2020 at 22:01
8 A local movie theatre is seen closed as new stay-at-home orders begin in Southern California during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease in Encinitas, California, on Dec 7. (Reuters photo)
The number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell for a second straight week last week but remain elevated more than nine months into the health and economic crisis triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, signalling a long recovery for the US job market.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slid to a seasonally adjusted 787,000 for the week ended Dec. 26, from 806,000 in the prior week, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 833,000 applications in the latest week.
Some 800,000 Americans applied for jobless aid the week before Christmas By Irina Ivanova 803,000 new unemployment claims
The number of people applying for jobless aid fell slightly last week but remained at a high level, showing the coronavirus continues to take a toll on the economy.
Some 803,000 people applied for unemployment benefits in the week ending December 19, the Labor Department said Wednesday. That s a drop of 89,000 from the week before.
Another 397,000 applied for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, a federal program for the self-employed and gig workers. Even with the potential new stimulus package, labor market damage continues to mount in real time. Total initial claims (non-seasonally adjusted) ticked down but remain above one million even ten months into this crisis, AnnElizabeth Konkel, economist at the Indeed Hiring Lab, said in a note.
885,000 people filed for unemployment benefits last week
JUSTIN LANE/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock/JUSTIN LANE/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
A man walks past a closed retail store location in New York City on Dec. 7, 2020.
By: Paul R. La Monica, CNN Business
Posted at 10:58 AM, Dec 17, 2020
and last updated 2020-12-17 12:58:25-05
The US job market continues to suffer, and Thursday brought more bad news. Another 885,000 people filed for first-time unemployment benefits last week an increase from the week prior and higher than the 800,000 claims that economists were expecting.
The latest figures, which are adjusted for seasonal factors and reported by the Labor Department, are particularly grim since last week s numbers were revised up to 862,000. And even before the revision, that week had been the highest level since mid-September.