For the second time in a month, new unemployment claims fell below the million mark in the U.S. Department of Labor’s weekly jobless report.
According to the department, 881,000 workers filed first-time claims for unemployment benefits in the week ending Aug. 29. That’s down about 130,000 claims from the week ending August 22, when 1,011,000 claims were filed.
In the week ending August 8, about 991,000 new claims were filed, which was the first time the number of workers filing new claims for unemployment fell below the million mark since late March, when government-imposed restrictions were first put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19.
California’s 236,874 new claims last week accounted for 26.8 percent of the U.S. total.
Continuing claims, which count workers who filed for unemployment benefits at least two weeks in a row, fell by about 765,000 to 13.1 million.
Although the economy appears to be slowly improving, several larger employers, including United Airlines and MGM Resorts, warned that layoffs and buyouts were coming.
Originally posted at The Center Square. Republished with permission.