Unemployment filings remain twice as high as the worst of the Great Recession


The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits is still significantly higher than during any week in the Great Recession.
The Labor Department on Thursday said that 1.3 million Americans filed first-time jobless claim last week, although the unadjusted number was 1.5 million, CNN reports. Additionally, the Labor Department reported more than 920,000 Americans filed for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance in 47 states.
Factoring in the PUA filings, Economic Policy Institute's Heidi Shierholz notes this was the 17th consecutive week that more than twice as many Americans have filed for unemployment insurance as did during the Great Recession's worst week. Shierholz argues that the 1.3 million claims figure is misleading in part because it ignores the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claims.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
According to Newsweek, during the Great Recession, the most jobless claims filed in one week was 665,000 in March 2009. Additionally, the record for most unemployment claims for any week prior to the coronavirus pandemic was 695,000 in 1982. Over the course of the past 17 weeks, CNN notes, more than 50 million Americans have filed for unemployment.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
A whole new world: redrawing the Mercator map
Under the Radar African Union joins calls to ditch 'colonial distortion' and portray countries at more accurate size
-
'Enforcement of rulings remains spotty at best'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Book reviews: 'King of Kings: The Iranian Revolution' and 'Gwyneth: The Biography'
Feature How the Iranian Revolution began and Gwyneth Paltrow's life in the spotlight
-
Trump said to seek government stake in Intel
Speed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to China
Speed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with Disney
Speed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B deal
Speed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliable
speed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages