The Labor Department on Thursday said jobless claims increased by 137,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 716,000. Before the coronavirus paralyzed the economy in March, jobless claims were typically around 225,000, according to the Associated Press.
An additional 427,600 claims were filed for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, the program for gig and self-employed workers. The latest unemployment figures coincide with the surge in coronavirus cases across the United States as a reduction in hiring, as well as closures of many businesses under stay-at-home orders are on the increase as states try to flatten the curve.
Consumers also are being more cautious this holiday season, not spending as much as in previous years, according to credit and debit card data. November – a month when businesses add employees in preparation for the holiday season – saw jobs added at the slowest pace since April.
“It’s evident the labor market is still in crisis,” said AnnElizabeth Konkel, an economist at the Indeed job search website. “The gap between now and when a vaccine is widely distributed looms large. There’s a lot of uncertainty ahead for the labor market going into the new year.”
America is in a crisis
The total number of people receiving state-provided unemployment aid rose for the first time in three months to 5.8 million, the government said, from 5.5 million. All told, more than 19 million people across the country are still dependent on some type of unemployment benefits.
According to the Washington Post, economists have been warning for months now that this crisis would damage the economy further unless Congress acted to authorize another stimulus package for businesses and households who are continuing to struggle.
Today, members of Congress and the Trump administration are fighting over a roughly $900 billion relief package proposed by a bipartisan group of lawmakers. Included in the package are funds that would extend unemployment benefits to the self-employed and contract workers, as well as extending jobless aid for 13 weeks.
