Another 884,000 File Unemployment Claims Last Week

WASHINGTON – The number of workers filing for first-time unemployment benefits did not change between last week and the week prior.

The U.S. Labor Department’s new report shows another 884,000 Americans filed for initial jobless assistance last week on a seasonally adjusted basis.

Without it, the weekly number of initial claims was slightly lower, but had still increased from the prior week.

Another 838,000 workers who don’t qualify for traditional unemployment filed for benefits under the pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program.

Meanwhile, 13.4 million American workers filed claims for unemployment insurance for at least two weeks in a row. That’s up slightly from the previous week and is not a great sign for the jobs recovery.

The Labor Department said in the week ending August 22, nearly 30 million Americans were claiming some form of government benefits.