WASHINGTON – More workers filed new applications for US jobless benefits last week, arresting tentative signs of progress in the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, according to government data released today.
And revised data showed that rather than declining, applications in the prior week actually increased sharply, according to the official data.
New jobless claims rose 13,000 in the week ended February 13, to 861,000, seasonally adjusted, after a 36,000 increase in the week ended February 6, meaning applications generally have been rising since the start of the year.
Some of the increase in recent weeks can be attributed to the stimulus package Congress approved in late December that extended some unemployment programs.
Another 516,299 people, not seasonally adjusted, filed claims last week under a pandemic assistance program for freelance workers, the report said.
And as of January 30, more than 18.3 million workers were receiving some form of jobless benefit, a decline of more than 1.3 million from the prior week, the data showed.
Weather can impact applications filed in state unemployment offices, and Texas, which is now gripped by widespread blackouts due to unusual Arctic weather, saw claims drop by more than 12,000. – AFP, February 18, 2021
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