Some 1.2 million Americans filed for first-time unemployment claims last week, the Labor Department said on Thursday, as lawmakers fought over whether to continue a $600 weekly jobless benefit for them amid a new wave of coronavirus infections impacting the world's largest economy
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th August, 2020) Some 1.2 million Americans filed for first-time unemployment claims last week, the Labor Department said on Thursday, as lawmakers fought over whether to continue a $600 weekly jobless benefit for them amid a new wave of coronavirus infections impacting the world's largest economy.
"In the week ending Aug 1, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 1,186,000," the department said in a news release. The figures marked a slight decline from the previous week's jobless claims of around 1.4 million and came on top of previous filings of more than 55 million over 19 weeks.
Republicans lawmakers on President Donald Trump's side have argued since last week with their Democrat rivals in Congress on whether to extend a $600 weekly benefit to jobless Americans.
The Republicans had wanted to cut the weekly benefit by a third, to $200, saying the payout was so "generous" that it was discouraging many from returning to work, even with businesses having reopened from lockdowns forced by the pandemic.
Without an extension of the benefit or approval of a new one, those laid off since March due to the pandemic will be left with weekly no government assistance for emergency cash.
Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday he was agreeable to extending the $600 benefit if Trump was alright with it. The president, who is seeking reelection in November, needs as many Americans working as possible to revive the economy from a record decline of nearly 33 percent in the second quarter.
The Labor Department said the percentage of jobless Americans, which it defined as the "advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate", was at 11 percent for the week ending Aug 1.
The number of continuing jobless claims accounting for people who haven't found work since filing first-time claims fell below the 17 million mark but remained significantly high at 16.1 million. The continuing jobless claims data typically lags the headline jobless claims number by a week.
"The COVID-19 virus continues to impact the number of initial claims and insured unemployment," the Labor Department added its news release.
More than 4.8 million Americans have already been infected by the COVID-19 so far, with a death toll reaching above 158,000, according to Johns Hopkins University. A model by the University of Washington has predicted 200,000 coronavirus deaths in the United States by Oct. 1, casting doubts on economic recovery.
