Nearly 3.5M workers remain on jobless benefits despite drop in weekly claims

Nearly 3.5 million Americans are still on traditional state unemployment benefits even as the number of people seeking new claims dropped last week to a fresh pandemic low, the feds said Thursday.

Continuing claims rose by 56,000 from about 3.4 million the week before, according to data released Thursday by the Labor Department. That figure stood at nearly 19 million at the same time last year, in the thick of the pandemic. Continuing claims have fallen significantly since peaks seen in 2020, but the figure remains about twice as high as pre-pandemic levels.