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Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose to a
seasonally adjusted 1.106 million for the week ended Aug. 15,
from an upwardly revised 971,000 in the prior week, the Labor
Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had
forecast 925,000 applications in the latest week.
The previous week's level had marked the first time since March
that new claims had registered below the 1 million level.
The extra $600 a week unemployment benefit lapsed on July 31.
While President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that
includes a provision extending the supplement at a reduced rate
of $400 a week, there has been confusion over its
implementation.
States are required to cover $100 of the benefits, but many
governors have indicated they don't have the financial capacity
after revenues were decimated in the fight against the COVID-19
pandemic. The remaining $300 will be funded from a limited
emergency disaster relief program, which economists estimated
could be depleted as early as September.
New COVID-19 infections continue to spread across the nation,
forcing authorities in some of the most afflicted areas to
either shut down businesses again or pause reopenings. The
newest twist in the path of the outbreak includes the eruption
of hot spots associated with some colleges reopening their
campuses.
First-time claims peaked at a record 6.867 million in late
March.
Thursday's claims report also showed the number of people
receiving benefits after an initial week of aid dropped to
14.844 million in the week ending Aug. 8 from a revised 15.480
million in the prior week.
The U.S. economy has regained only 9.3 million of the 22 million
jobs lost between February and April.
(Reporting by Dan Burns; Editing by Andrea Ricci and Paul Simao)
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