US weekly jobless claims hit 881,000, fewer filings than economists expected
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- New US jobless claims for the week that ended Saturday totaled 881,000 million, the Labor Department said Thursday. That came in below the consensus economist estimate of 950,000 million.
- Continuing claims, the aggregate total of people receiving unemployment benefits, totaled 13.3 million for the week that ended Aug. 22. That was also less than economist forecasts.
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Hundreds of thousands of Americans filed for unemployment insurance in the week ending Saturday as coronavirus-driven layoffs persisted. But the figures weren't as dire as experts expected.
New US weekly jobless claims totaled a non-adjusted 881,000 for the week Aug. 29, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That came in below the consensus economist estimate of 950,000 million compiled by Bloomberg.
Continuing claims, which represent the aggregate total of people receiving unemployment benefits, came in at 13.3 million for the week that ended Aug. 22, a decline from the prior period's revised number.
In just several months, the more than 59 million unemployment claims filed during the coronavirus pandemic have far surpassed the 37 million during the 18-month Great Recession. The latest figure still far exceeds the 665,000 filed during the Great Recession's worst week.
This week, Business Insider switched its focus from seasonally adjusted claims to non-seasonally adjusted claims after the Labor Department last week said it would change the methodology to seasonally adjust the weekly claims numbers.
While the move is to make the weekly reports more accurate, using the seasonally adjusted figures going forward would complicate comparisons to previous releases.
Despite the better-than-expected figures on Thursday, jobless claims remain stubbornly high. Economists expect that the August jobs report — due Friday — will show that the US economy added jobs, but at a slower rate on a month-over-month basis.
Recent data underscores that the economy may need more stimulus aid to speed its recovery. Still, Democrats and Republicans remain deadlocked on the details of the next coronavirus pandemic bill — on Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Speaker Nancy Pelosi renewed talks around the package but remain at odds, The Hill reported.
At the end of July, the additional $600 weekly employment benefit expired, slashing income for millions of out-of-work Americans. President Trump in August signed an executive order extending a $300 weekly federal benefit with an additional $100 from states. While 40 states have been approved to give unemployed workers the benefit, it may last only a few weeks.
In addition, the Paycheck Protection Program expired at the end of August, putting millions of small businesses in jeopardy.
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