The number of Americans applying for unemployment assistance rose in the first week of September, a signal of the labor market is losing speed as the economy continues to suffer from the effects of the coronavirus.

Just over 857,000 workers applied for first-time unemployment aid in the week ending September 5, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s up 20,000 from the week before, continuing last week’s trend of rising claims. On an adjusted basis, 884,000 people filed initial claims last week.

Nearly 839,000 additional Americans applied for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, a new federal program for self-employed workers. Jobless applications for self-employed people have steadily risen over the last month.

The expiration of an extra $600 in weekly benefits hasn’t seemed to slow the rate of layoffs, alarming economists.

“The improvement in U.S. labor markets has lost momentum, likely because of …continued .
[Source: CBS News]