Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Catch up on the day's biggest business stories
Subscribe to Axios Closer for insights into the day’s business news and trends and why they matter
Stay on top of the latest market trends
Subscribe to Axios Markets for the latest market trends and economic insights. Sign up for free.
Sports news worthy of your time
Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world with Axios Sports. Sign up for free.
Tech news worthy of your time
Get our smart take on technology from the Valley and D.C. with Axios Login. Sign up for free.
Get the inside stories
Get an insider's guide to the new White House with Axios Sneak Peek. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Want a daily digest of the top Denver news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Want a daily digest of the top Des Moines news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Want a daily digest of the top Twin Cities news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Want a daily digest of the top Tampa Bay news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Want a daily digest of the top Charlotte news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Volunteers distribute meals at a food bank in Pennsylvania last month. (Photo: Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images)
More than 1.4 million Americans filed for jobless claims last week — a figure that includes first-time filings for regular state unemployment and another program for non-traditional workers.
Why it matters: It’s another surge in the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits, an additional sign the labor market is facing more strain as the coronavirus continues to ravage the country.
How it breaks down:
- There were over 1.15 million new applications for the regular state unemployment, on a non-seasonally adjusted basis. It’s the first time this figure has spiked over 1 million since July.
- There were more than 284,000 applications for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, a program created in March that allows typically ineligible workers to receive unemployment benefits (think gig workers or the self-employed).
Separately, continued claims — or how many Americans continue to collect unemployment after initially applying — rose to 5.8 million, an increase of nearly 500,000 from the prior week.
- A similar gauge for the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program fell by more than 940,000 in the week ending Dec. 26 — likely a result of people exhausting their benefits before the new relief bill was signed into law.
- Continued claims in this program total more than 7.4 million, a figure economists warn may be overstated.
The bottom line: The rising jobless claims are way off the worst weekly levels seen at the onset of the coronavirus. But last week’s new filings are still nearly twice as bad as the highest level from before the pandemic.