Some 837,000 Americans filed jobless claims last week as pandemic layoffs continue

Hundreds of thousands of Americans -- 837,000 to be exact -- filed for unemployment insurance last week, the Department of Labor said Thursday.

This marks the 28th straight week that initial unemployment claims have reached unprecedented new highs. Since mid-March, the weekly figure has remained above the pre-pandemic record set nearly 40 years ago in 1982.

This week's figure is slightly less than last week's (a decrease of 36,000), but remains highly elevated by historical comparisons. Economists have also expressed worry that the weekly initial economic data has stagnated in...