Unemployment claims fall for the first time in a month

The number of people filing for initial unemployment claims fell last week but remains elevated at a historic level as coronavirus cases surge more than nine months into the pandemic.

Initial jobless claims sat at 803,000 last week, a decrease of 89,000 from the previous week, the Labor Department said Thursday. 

Claims have fallen since reaching a peak of nearly 7 million in March at the onset of the pandemic but have stagnated between 700,000 and 900,000 since August, generally declining gradually week over week. That trend reversed in early December when claims rose above 800,000 for the first time in nearly two months. The weekly pre-pandemic record for jobless claims was just shy of 700,000.

Congress on Monday passed a bipartisan coronavirus relief package that would extend additional jobless aid, but President Donald Trump on Tuesday evening threatened not to sign the measure, demanding that Congress up the value of direct stimulus payments included in the bill.

Meanwhile, coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are at record highs all over the country with the holiday season already underway. Health care workers and other high-priority people have begun to receive the coronavirus vaccine.

Some 398,000 additional people applied for jobless aid through the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, which was set up by Congress to help gig workers and others who do not typically qualify for regular state benefits.

The total number of people continually receiving unemployment benefits fell to 5.3 million during the week ending Dec. 12, a dip of 170,000 from the previous week.

Without Trump's signature on the relief bill, the PUA program and a program extending unemployment benefits past the normal state cutoff are both set to expire the day after Christmas.