WASHINGTON (AP) – The number of Americans applying for jobless aid was unchanged last week at 884,000, a sign that layoffs are stuck at a historically high level six months after the viral pandemic flattened the economy.
The latest figure released by the Labor Department Thursday still far exceeds the number who sought benefits in any week on record before this year.
The headline number only counts claims for regular benefits that not everyone who lost their livelihood due to the pandemic has access to.
That’s why claims for benefits under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program, that help workers like independent contractors, are so important. First-time claims under the PUA program totaled 838,916 last week, up from the prior week.
Meanwhile, 13.4 million American workers filed claims for unemployment insurance for at least two weeks in a row.
