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Unemployment claims below 1 million since March

U.S. unemployment applications recently fell below 1 million for the first time, including applications under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program which applies to individuals who do not qualify for regular unemployment compensation.

Recently the U.S. saw a drop in new applications for unemployment benefits. This month, the number of applicants fell below 1 million for the first time since March.

Initial jobless claims totaled 963,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis last week, compared with 1.2m a week earlier, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Even among applicants for the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, which applies to self-employed or other individuals who would not qualify for regular unemployment compensation, there was a drop.

U.S. residents collecting state unemployment aid decreased from 16.1 million to 15.5 million for the week ending Aug. 1. Continuing claims equaled 10.6 percent of the workforce, down from 11 percent.

While unemployment remains substantially higher compared to the previous year’s numbers, the U.S. has added around 9 million jobs in the last three months, slowly repairing the some 21 million jobs lost in March and April.