Another 709,000 Americans filed first-time claims for unemployment benefits last week on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Labor Department reported Thursday. It was a slightly smaller number of initial claims than economists had expected. On top of that, another 298,154 workers filed for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, a program sanctioned under the CARES Act to provide benefits to those ineligible for regular state aid, such as the self-employed. Together, first-time claims stood at 1 million last week, not adjusted for seasonal fluctuations. Still, it's been eight months since the pandemic crisis started, and the economic hardship created by mass layoffs remains for millions.

Source: CNN November 12, 2020 13:33 UTC