800,000 file for unemployment as Trump veto grandstanding threatens jobless benefits expiring on 26 December

Unemployment remains stubbornly high across the US within the days before Christmas, as more than 800,000 Americans filed jobless claims in the week ending 19 December.

The Labor Department’s latest figures give a glimpse into the fragile state of the nation’s economy 10 months into the public health crisis and its economic fallout. They come as Congress agreed to a $900bn relief package that includes one-time $600 checks for most Americans, along with an 11-week extension of $300 weekly federal unemployment benefits.

But federal unemployment benefits that have served as a critical lifeline for millions of Americans during the coronavirus pandemic are set to expire on 26 December, should Donald Trump follow through on his last-minute threat to veto the legislation, with crucially needed relief on the line.

If the president does not sign the legislation, benefits for 12 million Americans will expire. 

Wednesday’s numbers fell by 89,000 from the previous week, but the scale of unemployment remains historically high. Before the pandemic, roughly 225,000 jobless aid applications were filed each week, but an historic surge in unemployment – as high as 14.7 per cent – saw that figure more than double each week, as businesses shuttered, millions lost work and employer-provided health insurance, and stalled federal relief failed to buoy Americans through the crisis. 

Americans receiving state-level unemployment benefits fell to 5.3 million within the second week of December, a figure that peaked in May at nearly 23 million.

More than 20 million Americans are relying on some form of unemployment aid.

Roughly 869,000 people filed new claims for state jobless benefits within the last week ending on 19 December, which has fallen from the previous week but is significantly higher than jobless claims from a month earlier, before a new spike in Covid-19 infections and deaths. 

Nearly 400,000 people filed for aid through the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance programme, one of two federal programmes that are set to expire this month without the president’s signature.

On Tuesday night, the president attacked the congressional deal and demanded that Americans receive $2,000 in direct payments, not the agreed-upon $600, potentially blowing up negotiations after months of debate.

The president’s intervention came months after Democrats repeatedly pushed for the GOP-controlled Senate to agree to larger payments, following a one-time payment of $1,200 to most Americans in April. Republicans blocked efforts to issue similar checks in the latest relief package.

Congressional Democrats have leveraged the president’s statement on Tuesday to pressure Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to amend the relief package, part of a much-larger piece of government spending legislation.

"Democrats are ready to bring this to the Floor this week by unanimous consent,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi posted on Twitter. “Let’s do it!”