First time claims for unemployment benefits nationally totaled 881,000 last week, down by 130,000 from the previous week and the first time in three weeks new claims totaled less than 1 million, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
New claims in D.C. and Maryland continued to fall. Initial claims in Virginia were little changed from the previous week.
Nationwide, continuing claims — the total number of Americans getting unemployment benefits — fell by 1.2 million, but still totaled almost 13.3 million.
On an unadjusted basis, initial unemployment claims nationwide totaled 833,352.
New unemployment filings in D.C., Maryland and Virginia during the week ending Aug. 29, on an unadjusted basis:
District of Columbia
Week ending Aug. 29: 1,347
Week ending Aug. 22: 1,645
Maryland
Week ending Aug. 29: 6,536
Week ending Aug. 22: 7,644
Virginia
Week ending Aug. 29: 11,633
Week ending Aug. 22: 11,436
The Department of Labor posts weekly unemployment claims by state online.
