Weekly US jobless claims rise more than expected to 1.1mn

WASHINGTON, Aug 23 (AFP): Just over 1.1 million people filed new claims for jobless benefits in the week that ended August 15, the US Labor Department said Thursday, defying expectations for a more moderate rise.

That was an increase of 135,000 from the week prior and brought new claims back above the one million mark, only the third time new applications have increased since the beginning of April in the early weeks of the coronavirus pandemic.

And new applications under the special pandemic programmeme for those not normally eligible for benefits also rose, increasing by more than 53,000, according to the report.

The US is facing both the world's worst coronavirus outbreak and massive unemployment, with the latest data well above any single week of the 2008-2009 global financial crisis.

But the volume of new claims has been trending down, and the four-week moving average fell by 79,000 in the latest week to 1.75 million.