By Sarah Chaney

U.S. unemployment claims fell to less than one million last week for the first time since the pandemic hit the U.S. in March.

New applications for unemployment benefits dropped to 963,000 in the week ended Aug. 8, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Claims are down significantly from a peak of near seven million in March, but remain at historically high levels and well above the pre-pandemic record of 695,000.

The number of people collecting unemployment benefits through regular state programs, which cover the majority of workers, also decreased at the beginning of August. That figure, at about 15.5 million, was still well above the pre-pandemic peak of 6.6 million in 2009.

Write to Sarah Chaney at sarah.chaney@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 13, 2020 08:54 ET (12:54 GMT)