The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits was unchanged last week at 884,000, a sign that layoffs are stuck at a historically high level six months after the viral pandemic flattened the economy.
The latest figure released by the Labor Department Thursday still far exceeds the number who sought benefits in any week on record before this year.
The job market is improving fitfully as portions of the economy have reopened and companies are recalling some workers they had temporarily laid off. Employers have so far added back about half the record 22 million jobs that were lost to the pandemic.
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