Another 1.3 million people filed for unemployment for the first time last week, a slight decrease from the week before, as coronavirus cases and closures surged around the country, according to data released Thursday by the Department of Labor.
The numbers of new unemployment filings have remained above a million each week since the pandemic began mid-March. That number has averaged about 1.4 million the last four weeks.
In addition, states reported that another 1 million jobless claims were made under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, which grants benefits for gig workers, self-employed and contractors, the agency reported.
The numbers of people continuously receiving benefits at the end of June was 18.1 million people, down from 19.3 million people the week before that.
The initial claims remain well above the record before the pandemic, of 695,000 in 1982. They have dropped every week since the peak of 6.9 million, from the week of mid-March but have plateaued for the last month.
(c) 2020, The Washington Post · Eli Rosenberg
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