US weekly jobless claims fall below 1 mn for the first time in Covid-19 era

President Donald Trump on Saturday signed an executive order, including extending the supplement, though he reduced the weekly payout to $400

The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits dropped below one million last week for the first time since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in the United States, likely as the expiration of a $600 weekly jobless supplement discouraged some from filing claims.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits totaled a seasonally adjusted 963,000 for the week ended Aug 8, compared to 1.191 million in the prior week, the Labor Department said on Thursday. That was the lowest level since mid-March when authorities started shutting down non-essential business to slow the spread of coronavirus. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast