States reported that 840,000 U.S. workers filed for new unemployment benefits during the week ending Oct. 3, marking the sixth consecutive week of initial jobless claims under 1 million. The total number of workers continuing to claim unemployment benefits dropped to 10.9 million last week after peaking at nearly 25 million in early May. Another 11.4 million people continue to claim unemployment under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program providing jobless benefits to workers previously not eligible for unemployment. New applications for unemployment benefits are well above the pre-pandemic levels of about 200,000 claims per week.
Monthly job gains have slowed, and more layoffs are becoming permanent. A major wave of layoffs was announced last week, including at American and United Airlines and at the Walt Disney Co. Many of those workers will likely seek unemployment benefits in the coming weeks.