Economists expected 730,000 Americans to apply for jobless aid last week

The number of Americans applying for state unemployment benefits rose again last week as a surge in coronavirus cases across the country threatens to undermine the economy's recovery.

The latest jobless claims figures from the Labor Department, which cover the week ending Nov. 21, show that 778,000 workers sought aid last week, about four times the pre-crisis level. Still, it's well below the peak of nearly 7 million in late March, when states first implemented lockdown measures to curb the spread of COVID-19.

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It's a slight uptick from last week's revised figure of 748,000 and well above the 730,000 new claims forecast by Refinitiv economists. Read more at FOX Business