Jobless claims soared last week, to their highest level since mid-September, amid record numbers of Covid-19 cases and deaths.
The Dept. of Labor reported that 853,000 Americans filed for initial jobless benefits in the week ended Dec. 5, up from a revised 716,000 claims the prior week. The latest figure is above the 712,000 that economists polled by FactSet had expected.
According to the Labor Department, around20 million workers were receiving unemployment benefits in mid-November. But 8.56 million Americans were claiming Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits through Nov. 21, while 4.533 million individuals were claiming Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation benefits – these programs are scheduled to expire by the year-end.
Congress has a deadline of Dec. 18 to get a fiscal stimulus package to include year-end spending .