Jobless Claims Continue to Rise After Millions Lose Their Unemployment Aid

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Jobless claims have risen for the third consecutive week after millions lost their federal pandemic unemployment benefits, according to data released Thursday by the Labor Department.

Seasonally adjusted initial claims for unemployment insurance are at 362,000 in the week ending Sept. 25. That’s 11,000 more applications than the previous week.

Claims without seasonal adjustments fell somewhat, to 298,255. That number is before the Labor Department factored in an expected decline of 18,940 applications.

According to The Associated Press, employers “have rapidly increased their hiring since they slashed 22 million jobs in March and April 2020 as the coronavirus outbreak — and the shutdowns meant to contain it — brought economic activity to a near-standstill,” adding that since then, “the economy has recovered about 17 million jobs as businesses to open or expand hours and Americans to return to bars, restaurants and hotels.”

However, hiring has slowed since August due to the impact of the highly transmissible Delta variant on the economic recovery