A total of 348,912 individuals in the United States applied for unemployment benefits under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, which provides support to self-employed workers not eligible for traditional government programs.
According to data, new unemployment claims have decreased to their lowest level since November, but they remain above the previous record of 695,000 claims in a single week in 1982, with about 17.8 million Americans receiving some form of government unemployment assistance. The Congressional Budget Office stated last week that despite expectations for the U.S. economy to reach pre-COVID growth levels by mid-year, unemployment rates will not return to previous levels until 2024.