WASHINGTON, D.C. — The number of people applying for unemployment aid jumped last week to 853,000, the most since September.
The rise in jobless claims serves as evidence that some companies are cutting more jobs as new coronavirus cases spiral higher.
The Labor Department said Thursday that the number of applications increased by 137,000, from 716,000 the previous week.
The four-week moving average was 776,000, an increase of 35,500 from the previous week’s revised average, according to department.
Before the coronavirus paralyzed the economy in March, weekly jobless claims typically numbered only about 225,000.
The current rise in unemployment comes as the U.S. continues to break records for single-day coronavirus cases and deaths. Wednesday marked the first time more 3,000 people died from COVID-19 in a day in the U.S. since the pandemic began, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
