[UPI] The number of U.S. workers filing for new unemployment benefits has risen for the third straight week, the Labor Department said in its weekly report Thursday.
The department said there were 362,000 first-time filings last week, an increase of 11,000 claims.
The figure was almost 30,000 claims higher than the 335,000 that most economists expected.
but also
The report also noted that the number of Americans receiving federal aid fell from 11.2 million in the first week of September to about 5 million in the week ending Sept. 11 -- a decline of 6.2 million
[Covid relief unemployment payments expired in many States].
A more positive signal from the report is that the overall number of [unemployment] filers fell by 18,000 to 2.802 million. |