First Increase Since March in Unemployment Benefit Applications Reported Across U.S.

Applications for unemployment benefits have increased for the first time since March as 1.4 million Americans applied for aid.

As unemployment shot up due to coronavirus layoffs, the peak was reached in late March with 6.6 million people applying for the boosted unemployment benefits that were put in place to help ease the devastation on the job market and economy caused by COVID-19.

The number had steadily declined each week for the past four months until this week as an estimated 975,000 applied for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, which assisted in raising the unemployment total from 1.3 to 1.4 million. Along with this, this week marks seventeen weeks in a row that over two million people have filed jobless claims.

The largest increase in claims have came from Florida, Georgia, California, Washington and Indiana, which are states that have reapplied some restrictions due to spiking COVID-19 cases.

This increase in unemployment comes as enhanced unemployment benefits are set to expire this Friday; however, lawmakers and the Trump administration are looking to extend these measures in the short term.