790,000 new unemployment benefits in the US… 19,000 cases from the previous week↓

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[아시아경제 권재희 기자] The U.S. Department of Labor announced on the 11th (local time) that the number of new unemployment benefits claims was counted last week (January 31 to February 6).

This was down 19,000 from the previous week, but it was more than the 760,000 expert forecast compiled by Bloomberg News. The number of claims last week was raised to 812,000 from 779,000 previously announced.

The number of’continuous claims for unemployment benefits’ for at least two weeks was 4.5 million, down 145,000 from the previous week.

Compared to the number of new claims for unemployment benefits surpassing 900,000 in the middle of last month, the unemployment crisis seems to have subsided considerably. As the number of corona19 confirmed cases decreased and the number of vaccinations increased, economic activity gradually resumed.

However, the US media pointed out that there is still a long way to go before the job market recovers.

CNBC reported that “more than 10 million Americans who lost their jobs in the spring of last year in the early days of the pandemic are still unemployed.”

The number of new unemployment benefits claims in the U.S. was around 210,000 to 220,000 per week just before the beginning of March last year, just before the Corona 19 incident hit the labor market, but exploded to 3.3 million in the third week of March and 6.87 million in the fourth week. It has recorded more than 1 million cases for 20 consecutive weeks.

Meanwhile, Congress is debating a bill to extend the payment of an additional $400 a week to August.

Reporter Kwon Jae-hee [email protected]