Nearly 800,000 U.S. workers file new unemployment claims

Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Almost another 800,000 U.S. workers have filed for new unemployment benefits, the Labor Department said in its weekly report Thursday.

The report listed 787,000 new claims for the week ending Oct. 17, a decrease of 55,000 from the previous week.

The figure is the lowest since March, in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thursday's report also revised down last week's claims by 56,000. Most economists expected about 870,000 new claims.

The department said there are 8.4 million continuing claims, which lag initial claims by a week.

The department said in its September jobs report this month that the unemployment rate in the United States is about 7.9%.