Unemployment claims dip below 700,000 for first time since pandemic
By Niv Elis - 03/25/21 08:38 AM EDT Initial Unemployment Claims for the week ending March 20th fell below 700,000, the first time below that number in a year, coming in at a seasonally adjusted 684,000.
The figure was a 97,000 drop from the revised 770,000 a week earlier and beat Wall Street expectations of 735,000.
It was the first week since the pandemic began that weekly claims fell below the pre-pandemic record of 695,000 set in 1982, though they remain above the Great Recession high of 665,000.
But the topline figures mask deeper levels of pain still going on in the economy.
Another 241,745 people filed for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, an emergency program covering gig economy workers and the self-employed.
As of March 6, the last week for which data was available, nearly 19 million people were receiving benefits of any kind from a variety of programs, including 5.5 million on emergency programs for long-term unemployment.
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https://thehill.com/policy/finance/544862-unemployment-claims-dip-below-700000-for-first-time-since-pandemic
