Today’s unemployment report underscores just how important it was for Congress to deliver emergency aid and avert a massive benefits cliff in just 3 days, causing a mass sigh of relief from coast to coast.

In the week ending 12/19, another 1.26 million workers filed new jobless claims, down 130k from last week but significantly higher than the low of 1.02 million in November.

These new claims include 397,500 who applied for PUA, one of the two programs set to expire on 12/26 unless a bill is signed into law to extend it.

These new claims join 9.27 million Americans who are relying on PUA benefits, many of whom are approaching the original 39-week limit and would receive an additional 11 weeks of income.

The bill that Congress passed is especially vital for the 4.8 million people on PEUC, the federal program for long-term unemployed, who will also lose their income unless it is signed. This is down slightly (7k) from last week’s record high.

These nearly 14 million people relying on programs that will expire on Saturday without a bill are joined by 5.44 million who filed continuing claims for state UI -- down 47,500 from last week, but declining at a much slower rate than earlier this year.

The stimulus bill would not only extend PUA and PEUC, it would help those on state UI as well, providing a $300/week supplement on top of the average $317 weekly base check for state UI.

President Trump has failed to speedily sign the bill, which will stall the progress in getting out this assistance until well into the New Year, as states need to reprogram and reboot the program that has not been active since the end of July.

While unemployed workers had hoped for far more from Congress’s deal, today’s report underscores how timely and impactful the bill will be for working families come January.