Washington state jobless claims and unemployment rate fall

Some 742,000 workers filed for unemployment insurance last week, an uptick of more than 30,000 compared to the previous week, the Department of Labor said Thursday.

Most economists expected about 700,000 new claims.

The government also said Thursday that more than 20.3 million people are still claiming some form of unemployment assistance through all government programs for the week ending October 31.

Washington state received fewer new jobless claims last week and saw its unemployment rate fall.

Close to 67 million Americans ‒ roughly 40% of the nation's labor force ‒ have applied for aid since the coronavirus lockdowns began in mid-March.

The department said there are nearly 6.4 million continuing claims, which lag initial claims by a week. The decline suggests that employers are calling their workers back.

More than four and a half people in the state were unemployed last month, which marked the highest number since the start of the pandemic.

The report comes as newly confirmed daily infections in the US have surged 80% over the past two weeks to the highest levels on record.

This is a developing story and will be updated.