People wear their face masks waiting in line for an emergency food distribution at 88th Street Temple Church of God in Christ on April 14, 2020 in Los Angeles, California, during the coronavirus pandemic.
Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty Images
The number of Americans who first filed for unemployment benefits came in for a second consecutive week above 1 million as the economy seeks to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, the Labor Department said Thursday.
The first claims of the American unemployed amounted to just over 1 million for the week ending August 22, from 1,104 million in the previous week. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected initial unemployment claims expected claims to reach $ 1 million immediately.
Last week marked the 22nd time in 23 weeks that initial claims were above 1 million.
“Continued claims continue to fall, but still indicate a very tight labor market,” said Jamie Cox, managing partner at Harris Financial Group in Virginia. “Even a drop of 1 million people in the total number of unemployed is not enough – there is a lot of work to be done, because 14 million people still receive UI assistance of one kind or another.”
Continued claims – which account for those receiving unemployment benefits for at least two straight weeks – fell from 223,000 to 14,535 million for the week ending 15 August. Data on ongoing claims will be delayed by one week.
Thursday’s report follows a mixed batch of economic data. Sustainable orders for July rose 11.2% last month, while sales of new homes rose 36% last month. However, consumer confidence fell in August for a second straight month.
Wall Street is also keeping an eye on the unemployment data, as lawmakers have yet to move forward on a new coronavirus package.
CNla’s Kayla Tausche reported that Republicans are set to propose a stimulus bill that would provide about $ 500 billion in aid. However, this proposal is unlikely to gain traction in the Democratic-controlled House. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Has indicated that she does not intend to resume negotiations until the GOP agrees to double the price tag of its existing $ 1 trillion proposal.
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