Weekly jobless claims remain under 1 million but slightly increase to 898,000, feds

The number of U.S. workers seeking unemployment benefits continues to remain under 1 million but increased slightly last week to 898,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

The numbers reflect the economic impact of the roughly seven-month-long coronavirus pandemic and signals a slowdown in hiring. 

The economy is still roughly 10.7 million jobs short of recovering all the 22 million jobs that were lost when the pandemic struck in early spring, according to the Associated Press.

The new numbers were released amid stalled efforts in Washington for Congress to pass and President Trump to sign another round of coronavirus-related stimulus money to help unemployed workers and hard-hit sectors of the economy.