The number of American workers seeking state unemployment benefits last week jumped to 853,000, the third straight weekly increase and a sign that the resurgent viral outbreak may be forcing more businesses to slash jobs. The Labor Department said in a Dec. 10 report (pdf) that the number of people who filed initial state benefit claims last week grew by about 137,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 716,000. Economists polled by Reuters predicted 725,000 weekly jobless claims, making the Labor Department’s figures a downside surprise. “Our fears of a significant economic toll taken by the explosion in the COVID-19 cases have now been matched by a spike in new claims for unemployment benefits,” said Bankrate.com senior economic analyst Mark Hamrick, in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times. “With the number of new claims alone, administered by the states, the increase of 137,000 takes total new claims back to …
Weekly Jobless Claims Rise to 853,000 Amid Viral Surge
