Another 1.3 million Americans filed initial claims for state unemployment benefits last week, the Labor Department said Thursday. New applications fell for the 16th straight week, but the size of the decrease fell short of expectations, with just 10,000 fewer filings than the week before. It was the 17th straight week in which initial claims exceeded 1 million.
In addition to the claims through the state systems, more than 900,000 people applied for benefits through the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, which provides assistance to self-employed and gig workers who are usually ineligible for unemployment aid.
In all, about 2.2 million people applied for unemployment benefits in the week ending July 11. (Using data that is not seasonally adjusted, the number is 2.4 million).
“The level of jobless claims is stalling -- and that's a very worrying sign,” said Heather Long of the Washington Post.