New claims for unemployment benefits nationwide totaled more than 1 million for the second consecutive week last week, though the total was about 100,000 fewer than the previous week.
Initial unemployment claims in the District, Maryland and Virginia all fell.
The Department of Labor reports 1 million initial claims were filed last week, down from 1.1 million the previous week.
It was the 22nd time in 23 weeks that first time jobless claims totaled more than 1 million. Before the coronavirus pandemic, those claims had never topped 700,000 in a week.
The total number of Americans currently receiving unemployment benefits fell by 223,000 to 14.5 million.
On an unadjusted basis, which does not factor in seasonal influences, initial claims nationwide totaled 821,591.
Here are the new filings for unemployment benefits, not seasonally adjusted, for the District, Maryland and Virginia:
D.C.:
Week ending Aug. 22: 1,574
Week ending Aug. 15: 1,979
Maryland:
Week ending Aug. 22: 6,881
Week ending Aug. 15: 9,053
Virginia:
Week ending Aug. 22: 12,870
Week ending Aug. 15: 15,151
The Department of Labor posts weekly unemployment claims by state online.
