Rise in jobless claims reflects still-struggling US economy

The figures suggest that employers are still slashing jobs even as some businesses reopen and some sectors like housing and manufacturing have rebounded.“Getting the virus in check dictates when there’ll be relief from this economic nightmare, and it doesn’t look like it will be soon,” said AnnElizabeth Konkel, an economist at Indeed, a job listings website.The scourge in the U.S. has killed more than 170,000 people and caused over 5.5 million confirmed infections, with deaths rising by more than 1,000 a day on average. “We will not bring our countries to a halt, but we will have to learn to live with the virus.”Elsewhere around the world, India logged a record 69,652 confirmed infections in a single day.In the U.S., the previous weekly report from the Labor Department showed new jobless claims had dipped below 1 million for the first time since March, to 971,000. Thursday’s report showed that in addition to people who applied last week for state benefits, roughly 540,000 others sought aid under a new program that has made self-employed and gig workers eligible for the first time.