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5 years agoon
WASHINGTON — The number of furloughed federal employees seeking unemployment benefits jumped in the first two weeks of the shutdown, topping 10,000 during the week of Jan. 5.
More furloughed federal workers could apply for unemployment benefits in the weeks ahead. The Labor Department will release data for the week ending Jan. 12, the third week of the shutdown, next week.
The shutdown that began Dec. 22 caused roughly 420,000 federal employees to work without pay. Another 380,000 are not at work and not being paid. Those numbers have shifted a bit in recent days as the IRS and some other agencies have called more employees back to work.
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Applications rose last week in states with a large number of federal contractors, many of whom are also working without pay. In Washington D.C., unemployment claims rose to 2,158 from 1,190, while in Virginia they jumped to 5,966 from 3,497 and in Maryland to 4,949 from 4,467.US Unemployment Claims Fall to 376,000, Sixth Straight Drop
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