1.2 million seek unemployment benefits after $600 federal check ends
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1.2 million seek unemployment benefits after $600 federal check ends
Nearly 1.2 million laid-off Americans applied for state unemployment benefits last week, evidence that the coronavirus keeps forcing companies to slash jobs just as a critical $600 weekly federal jobless payment has expired.
The Labor Department’s report marked the 20th straight week that at least 1 million people have sought jobless aid. Before the pandemic hit hard in March, the number of Americans seeking unemployment checks had never surpassed 700,000 in a week, not even during the Great Recession of 2007-2009. The new jobless claims were down by 249,000 from the previous week after rising for two straight weeks.
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