Jobless claims unexpectedly jump, suggesting stalling pandemic "recovery"

``American workers continued to hit the unemployment line in large numbers last week, with 898,000 new claims filed for jobless benefits. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for 830,000. The total for the week ended Oct. 10 was the highest number since Aug. 22 and another sign that the labor market continues to struggle to get back to its pre-coronavirus pandemic mark as cases rise and worries increase over a renewed wave in the fall and winter. The number represented a gain of 53,000 from the previous week's upwardly revised total of 845,000.'' -- The article doesn't discuss it, but you can clearly see from the included chart that the new "floor" of initial unemployment claims is something like 4x the pre-pandemic monthly level...