As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the U.S. unemployment numbers remain at significant highs. In the latest U.S. Department of Labor report, 778,000 individuals filed for unemployment insurance benefits (on a seasonally adjusted basis) for the first time for the week ending Nov. 21.
This was up approximately 30,000 from the last report, when there were 748,000 individuals who applied for benefits. Originally, the Labor Department reported the figure at 742,000 but revised it up by 6,000 this week.
Despite this rise in initial unemployment claims, the insured unemployment rate decreased in the United States. The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment advance number, for the week ending Nov. 14, was 6,071,000. The previous week’s number was 6,370,000, indicating a decrease of 299,000 insured unemployment claims.
The Arkansas unemployment claims situation mirrored the national trend.
In Arkansas, there were approximately 3,736 individuals who made initial unemployment claims for the week ending Nov. 21. This is an advance number provided by the Labor Department. This figure marks an increase of 252 unemployment claims, compared to the previous week when 3,484 initial claims were filed.
Insure unemployment claims in Arkansas for the week ending Nov. 14 totaled 21,214. This was a decrease of 670 claims from the previous week when 21,884 claims were filed.
READ MORE: Dow Jones Breaks 30,000 Mark on Tuesday, Nov. 24
