Weekly jobless claims rose to 861,000 last week, up from week before

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – The US Labor Department announced Thursday that the number of first-time jobless claims increased to 861,000 for the week ending Feb 13, around 13,000 more than the prior week, Just the News reports. The number of claims for last week reflects the global economy that continues to struggle under the impact of COVID-19.

Although last week’s jobless claims figure is lower than the January peak of 926,000, it still exceeded economists’ predictions by 90,000 claims, Just the News said. The number also reverses the recent slightly downward trend of jobless claims.

At the same time, the numbers of COVID-19 cases and related deaths have declined in recent weeks. Moreover, according to Government data, retail sales increased by the most in seven months in January, Reuters said.

The economy created 49,000 jobs in January, after losing 227,000 jobs in December, Reuters reported. Around 22.2 million jobs were lost during the pandemic, and 12.3 million have been recovered.

In any event, as the Biden administration works to pass its $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package through Congress, the Congressional Budget Office has stated employment figures will not return to pre-pandemic levels before 2024, Reuters said.

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