The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits increased more than expected last week, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to affect the US economy.
The Labor Department said Thursday that initial jobless claims increased by 1.416 million for the week ending July 18. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected initial requests to increase by 1.3 million. That marks the eighteenth consecutive week that initial claims increased by more than 1 million.
California saw the highest number of initial claims filed last week at 292,673, the Labor Department report showed. Florida and Georgia also reported more than 100,000 claims for the past week.
Last week’s apparent stagnation in the labor market comes as coronavirus cases in the US rise at a record rate. Data collected by Johns Hopkins University showed that the total number of confirmed cases in the country is close to 4 million. Coronavirus-related deaths in the United States also number more than 140,000.
The data is also presented when an additional benefit of $ 600 per week will expire at the end of this month.
Undoubtedly, continuing claims, which refer to those who receive benefits for at least two consecutive weeks, fell by 1,107 million to 16,197 million for the week ending July 11. Data for continuous claims is delayed by one week.
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