Jobless claims down 19,000, still 4 times pre-pandemic level - Business News castanet.net - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from castanet.net Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Jobless claims down 19,000, still 4 times pre-pandemic level stamfordadvocate.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from stamfordadvocate.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
WASHINGTON The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell by 19,000 last week to still historically high 787,000 as a resurgent coronavirus grips the U.S. economy.
While at the lowest level in four weeks, the new figures released Thursday by the Labor Department are nearly four times higher than last year at this point before the coronavirus struck. Employers continue to cut jobs as rising coronavirus infections keep many people at home and state and local governments re-impose restrictions.
Jobless claims were running around 225,000 a week before the pandemic struck with force last March, causing weekly jobless claims to surge to a high of 6.9 million in late March as efforts to contain the virus sent the economy into a deep recession.
Mitch McConnell Made $3,300 This Week While Blocking One-Time $2,000 Stimulus Check
By David Sirota, Walker Bragman and Andrew Perez
On 12/31/20 at 10:09 AM EST
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was paid $3,300 of U.S. government money this week while he blocked a one-time $2,000 stimulus check for struggling Americans.
Even before the pandemic, 40 percent of Americans were struggling to afford at least one basic necessity and 78 percent of full-time workers were living paycheck-to-paycheck, according to figures from 2017. Half a million people were counted as homeless in 2018 alone.
The pandemic has made things worse: In the spring, 22 million jobs were lost which could take as long as four years to recover without significant relief. As of June, roughly 14 million workers and their dependents had lost employer-based health insurance. The number of Americans affected by food insecurity is now projected to hit 54 million up from 35 million pre-pandemic. More than 14 mil