Sean Harris holds a sign asking for help while standing on the neutral ground on Carrollton Ave. at Bienville Ave. in New Orleans, Friday, Sept. 4, 2020. Harris had just completed training to be a hunted history tour guide in the French Quarter when the coronavirus pandemic hit. He has not been able to find a job since. (Max Becherer/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

WASHINGTON - The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits was unchanged last week at 884,000, a sign that layoffs are stuck at a historically high level six months after the viral pandemic flattened the economy.

The latest figure released by the Labor Department Thursday still far exceeds the number who sought benefits in any week on record before this year.

The job market is improving fitfully as portions of the economy have reopened and companies are recalling some workers they had temporarily laid off. Employers have so far added back about half the record 22 million jobs that were lost to the pandemic.

But hiring has slowed since June, and a rising number of laid-off workers say they regard their job loss as permanent. The recovery of those jobs will likely take longer to achieve. Jobless people typically find it harder to find work at a new company or in a new industry than to return to a previous employer.

The government also said Thursday that 13.4 million people are continuing to receive traditional jobless benefits, up from 13.3 million the previous week. The increase suggests that hiring isn't occurring quickly enough to offset still-widespread layoffs.

Hiring will likely remain restrained as long as Americans are unable or reluctant to resume their normal habits of shopping, travelling, dining out and engaging in other commerce. The rate of reported infections has dropped over the past several weeks but remains well above where it was during the spring. Most analysts say the economy won’t likely be able to sustain a recovery until a vaccine is widely available.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story is below:

The U.S. government will provide its latest snapshot Thursday of the pace of layoffs, which have remained elevated but have been declining as some sectors of the economy have rebounded in the months since the viral pandemic erupted.

The number of people who are seeking unemployment benefits each week still exceeds the number who did so in any week on record before the virus triggered a recession in early spring.

The government's August jobs report showed that the economy had recovered about half the 22 million jobs that were lost to the pandemic. Many employers, especially small retailers, hotels, restaurants, airlines and entertainment venues, are struggling. And millions of Americans are facing unemployment with diminished benefits.

The rate of confirmed viral infections has dropped over the past several weeks but remains well above where it was in the spring. Many analysts say the economy won’t likely be able to sustain a recovery until a vaccine is available.

News from © The Associated Press, 2020