- First-time claims for unemployment benefits totaled 840,000 last week, higher than the 825,000 Wall Street estimate.
- Claims have remained above 800,000 every week since mid-March.
- There are still 25.5 million workers collecting some form of benefits, more than half of whom fall under special benefits set up during the pandemic.
Claims have been above 800,000 every week since the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic, leading to the shutdown of the U.S. economy.
However, continuing claims again fell sharply, dropping by just over 1 million to 10.98 million, according to the Labor Department release. Continuing claims trail the headline weekly claims number by a week.
Meanwhile, the North American lumber industry is having its wildest year in recent history prior to the wildfires raging on the west coast. Weyerhaeuser Co., the continent’s biggest wood producer, said that the blazes that have blanketed much of the Western U.S. sky in an apocalyptic orange had reached its timber operations in Oregon. Natural disasters this year have decimated crops and growth across multiple regions.