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US Unemployment Benefit Claims Edge Lower but Still Historically High

Ken Bredemeier

   WASHINGTON - Another 787,000 U.S. workers filed for unemployment
   compensation last week, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday, as
   the coronavirus crisis continues to stress the American labor market
   nine months after the pandemic swept into the country.

   The latest weekly total was 19,000 fewer than the revised seasonally
   adjusted figure from the week before but consistent with the number of
   claims over recent months.

   The recent weekly figures are well below the 6.9 million record number
   of claims filed in late March as the pandemic took hold in the U.S. but
   remain above the highest pre-pandemic level in records going back to
   the 1960s.

   Nearly 10 million of the 22 million workers who lost jobs remain
   unemployed in the U.S. The jobless rate was 6.7% in November and many
   economists say the figure could remain elevated for months. Hiring in
   November slowed for a fifth straight month, with employers adding the
   fewest jobs since April.

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