Americans filed 965,000 new unemployment claims last week, the most since late August, as the coronavirus continues to surge nationwide and put pressure on the labor market.
The number soared above Wall Street estimates of 800,000 and exceeded the previous week’s total of 784,000.
Last week saw the most new unemployment claims since the week of August 22, when just over 1 million claims were filed.
A report issued Thursday by the Labor Department also shows that 5.3 million Americans are continuing to receive state jobless benefits, up from 5.1 million one week earlier.