A hiring sign outside of Gray M. Sanborn Elementary School in Palatine, Illinois, Thursday, November 5, 2020. Illinois reports biggest spike in unemployment claims of all states. The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell by 19,000 but remain elevated at 787,000 as a resurgent coronavirus grips the U.S. economy. While at the lowest level in four weeks, the new figures released Thursday by the Labor Department are nearly four times higher than a year ago before the coronavirus struck. The government said that the total number of people receiving traditional unemployment benefits fell by 103,000 to 5.2 million for the week ending December 19 compared to the previous week.-AP

Source: The Standard December 31, 2020 14:15 UTC