By ABC News
(WASHINGTON) — Two pieces of economic data released Thursday highlight the pain of the U.S. economy as the coronavirus pandemic rages on.
Some 847,000 people nationwide lost their jobs and filed for unemployment insurance last week, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. That’s a decrease of 67,000 compared to the previous week’s figure.
In addition, the Department of Labor said more than 18 million people were still claiming some form of unemployment benefits through all U.S. government programs as of the week ending Jan. 9. For the comparable week last year, that number was approximately two million.While the weekly unemployment filings figure has dropped off significantly since peaking at some 6.9 million in a single week last spring, they still remain at historically high levels.Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Commerce said Thursday that U.S. gross domestic product grew at a 4% annualized rate last quarter — a significant slowdown compared to the previous quarter, which saw an increase of 33.4% on an annualized basis. The third quarter’s huge spike, however, reflected businesses reopening after mass shutdowns. Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
