Initial claims for unemployment benefits nationwide continued to fall last week, including a drop in new claims in D.C. and Maryland, though initial claims in Virginia rose.
The Labor Department says 2.123 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits in the week ending May 23, down from 2.438 the previous week.
About 41 million people have now applied for aid since the coronavirus outbreak intensified in March. The national jobless rate was 14.7% in April, the highest since the Great Depression, and many economists expect it will near 20% in May.
A sign that unemployed Americans are returning to work is in the number of continuing claims, which fell by nearly 4 million to just over 21 million.
The unadjusted number of initial unemployment claims was 1.915 million. This number does not include seasonal factors.
State numbers are reported on an unadjusted basis.
The total number of initial claims last week in D.C., Maryland and Virginia was 96,954, compared to 85.006 the previous week.
A spike in initial claims in Virginia drove the region’s number higher. The Labor Department says Virginia’s initial claims number for last week was estimated.
Here are the unadjusted, first-time unemployment claims numbers for D.C., Maryland and Virginia:
District of Columbia
Week Ending May 23: 5,123
Week Ending May 16: 5,196
Maryland
Week Ending May 23: 33,240
Week Ending May 16: 35,111
Virginia
Week Ending May 23: 58,591
Week Ending May 16: 44,699
The Labor Department posts weekly initial claims by state online.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
