Another 709,000 Americans Filed for Unemployment Benefits Last Week.<br />The Labor Department <br />released the report <br />on Thursday.<br />According to CNN, last week's number of first-time claims was slightly smaller than economists predicted.<br />Additionally, another 298,154 people who don't qualify for regular state aid filed for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance.<br />With both programs combined, first-time claims were at 1 million, which was a new low.<br />Continued jobless claims were down from <br />the previous week at 6.8 million.<br />Pandemic assistance programs <br />are set to expire at the end of <br />the year unless Congress <br />works to extend them. .<br />This would leave millions scrambling to adapt ... either facing a halt in unemployment benefits or the challenge of enrolling in a different benefits program amid an already clogged system. , Indeed Hiring Lab economist AnnElizabeth Konkel, via CNN.<br />With continued tumult in Washington, the possibility of these programs ending looms large, Indeed Hiring Lab economist AnnElizabeth Konkel, via CNN
