States reported that 861,000 U.S. workers filed for new unemployment benefits during the week ending Feb. 13, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week's upwardly revised level. The total number of workers continuing to claim unemployment benefits fell to 4.4 million. About 18 million people are receiving some type of unemployment aid.
First-time weekly unemployment claims had generally been trending down in recent weeks, as COVID-19 case levels have been improving since a holiday spike. Meanwhile, more than 11 million workers are in emergency unemployment programs slated to expire in mid-March unless Congress extends them.