Jobless claims jump to 853K amid surge in coronavirus infections
by Jay Heflin, Business Editor |
| December 10, 2020 08:31 AM
The number of new applications for unemployment benefits last week soared by 130,000 to 853,000, the Labor Department reported on Thursday, as COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc on the job market.
"Our fears of a significant economic toll taken by the explosion in the COVID-19 cases have now been matched by a spike in new claims for unemployment benefits," said Mark Hamrick, a senior economic analyst for Bankrate.
Economists had projected 725,000 new claims.
Altogether, over 1.2 million workers filed for benefits last week, when including claims for the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, which is a new category of eligibility for relief created for workers sidelined by the pandemic, such as gig workers whose work dried up.
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/jobless-claims-jump-to-853-000-as-coronavirus-infections-surge-across-the-country
