Weekly jobless claims fall below 1M

Layoffs slowing, but number remains high

WASHINGTON — The number of Americans applying for unemployment dropped below 1 million last week for the first time since the coronavirus outbreak took hold in the U.S. five months ago, but layoffs are still running high.

The figures show that the crisis continues to throw people out of work just as the expiration of an extra $600 a week in federal jobless benefits has deepened the hardship for many and posed another threat to the U.S. economy.

Applications for jobless benefits declined to 963,000, the second straight drop, from 1.2 million the previous week, the government said Thursday. That signals layoffs are slowing, but the weekly figure still exceeds the pre-outbreak record of just under 700,000, set in 1982.

Nevada saw 20,642 new claims for jobless benefits last week, up 6,915 from the week before, the Department of Labor reported.

“Another larger-than-expected decline in jobless claims suggests that the jobs recovery is regaining some momentum, but … much labor market progress remains to be done,” said Lydia Boussour, senior

economist at Oxford Economics.

Hiring is believed to have slowed since the spring, when states reopened and millions of workers at bars, restaurants and stores were rehired. The job gain in August probably will fall short of the 1.8 million added in July, analysts say.

For months, on top of their state benefit, unemployed Americans also collected the $600 a week in federal jobless aid. But that expired at the end of July, and talks in Congress to extend it, probably at a lower level, have collapsed.

Last week, President Donald

Trump issued an executive order that would provide $300 a week to replace the expired $600. But experts say it could take weeks for the states to reprogram their computers and process and

dispense the payments.

Michelle Meyer, an economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, said the loss of the additional aid will reduce Americans’ incomes by $18 billion a week.