In addition to the laid-off people who applied last week for state benefits, 759,000 others sought jobless aid under a new program that has made self-employed and gig workers eligible for the first time. That figure isn’t adjusted for seasonal trends, so it’s reported separately. But including that group, the Labor Department said 29.2 million people are receiving some form of unemployment benefits, though that figure might be inflated by double-counting by some states.
On Friday, when the government issues the jobs report for August, it’s expected to report that employers added roughly 1.4 million jobs last month. That would still leave the economy about 11 million jobs short of the number it’s lost to the pandemic.
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