States reported that 576,000 workers filed for new unemployment benefits during the week ending April 10, a decrease of 193,000 from the previous week and the lowest level of first-time jobless claims since March 2020. The total number of workers continuing to claim unemployment benefits remained at 3.7 million. Jobless claims numbers have bounced up and down in recent weeks, but the number of people receiving unemployment assistance is slowly declining as the labor market recovers.
About 17 million people overall are receiving some type of unemployment aid. That includes 12 million people enrolled in the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program for gig workers and the self-employed and the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program, which offers an additional 24 weeks of benefits.