The number of Americans filing new unemployment claims increased to 884,000 last week as the economy continues to suffer from the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Department of Labor.
The Department of Labor figure released Thursday represented an increase of new jobless claims compared to the week ending on Aug. 29, in which there were 881,000 new jobless claims reported.
Economists expected Thursday’s jobless claims number to come in around 850,000, according to The Wall Street Journal. New jobless claims fell below 1 million in the first week of August, marking the first time the weekly claims were below under 1 million since March. (RELATED: US Economy Added 1.4 Million Jobs In August, Unemployment Falls To Lowest Rate Since April)
A view of the New York Stock Exchange is seen at Wall Street on June 29, 2020 in New York City. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)
“There’s still a long way to go, and I think we’re likely to see continued progress,” said Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Amherst Pierpont, WSJ reported. “More businesses are still reopening.”
Jobless claims hovered around 200,000 per week before the pandemic, according to WSJ. President Donald Trump declared a national emergency in March as coronavirus spread rapidly around the world.
The U.S. added 1.4 million jobs in August, while unemployment fell to 8.4%, according to Department of Labor data released Friday.
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