Number of workers filing for jobless aid rises for third straight week to 362,000

The number of workers applying for first-time jobless aid increased for the third week in a row last week — a sign the surge in coronavirus cases is causing an uptick in layoffs. 

Some 362,000 people filed initial unemployment claims, the Labor Department said Thursday. That's an increase of 11,000 from the prior week.

"Claims rose again, and now it's evident higher layoffs are a side effect of the Delta wave," Robert Frick, corporate economist at the Navy Federal Credit Union, said in a note. With coronavirus cases nationwide appearing to have peaked, he predicted unemployment claims should resume falling in mid-October.