New claims for unemployment dropped to 712,000 in regular state programs in the week ended March 6, the Labor Department reported today. That drop of 42,000 from the prior week was a bigger drop than economists had projected. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg were looking for 725,000 new claims in regular state programs.
Continuing claims–the number of Americans filing for ongoing unemployment benefits–declined by 193,000 to 4.14 million in the week ended February 27.
On the other hand, claims in federal programs such as the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program for self-employed and gig workers, surged with an additional 4878,000 workers filing new claims, an increase of 42,000 in the week ended on March 6. Eligibility for the program was recently expanded to include individuals who won’t work because they are afraid they will contract the coronavirus on the job.
In the week ended February 20, there were 5.5 million continuing claims for Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, the federal program that provides extended jobless benefits for those who have exhausted their regular state benefits.
