New Hampshire jobless claims again show modest decline

(The Center Square) – First-time unemployment claims in New Hampshire dropped again last week, as fewer jobless workers sought benefits from state and federally-backed programs.

At least 2,896 new jobless claims were filed for the week that ended Jan. 30 – down by 868 from the previous week, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s weekly report.

Another 193 new claims were filed for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, a federally backed program which covers workers ineligible for regular unemployment benefits. That’s an decrease of 338 claims from the previous week.

Meanwhile, 27,638 continuing claims for state unemployment benefits – which are considered a barometer of the unemployment situation – were filed in the week ending Jan. 23, a decline of 898 over the previous week.

Nationally, about 779,000 new jobless claims were filed last week, a drop of about 33,000 claims from the previous week, according to the Labor Department.

Continuing claims dropped by 193,000 to about 4.5 million nationally for the week that ended Jan. 23, the labor department said.

Despite the improving labor market, more than 17.8 million people are still receiving state or federal unemployment benefits in the previous week.

Many jobless workers are benefitting from an extra $300-a-week from federal unemployment programs that were extended for another 11 weeks by the latest COVID-19 relief package.

The government-funded programs provide federal jobless benefits for self-employed, gig workers and others who aren’t covered by traditional state unemployment programs.

President Joe Biden has proposed a $1.9 trillion stimulus proposal, which calls for an extension of federal jobless programs and an increase to the $300 weekly benefit.

Democrats in Congress are pushing for a vote on the relief package but face headwinds amid Republican opposition to the overall price tag and provisions of the proposal.

New Hampshire has distributed about $1.5 billion in jobless benefits to more than 165,000 jobless workers during the pandemic, according to the state employment agency.

The state’s unemployment rate for December was 4%, a slight increase from the previous month, according to New Hampshire Employment Security.

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