The number of Americans filing for jobless claims last week remains at the highest level in 8 months
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. filings for jobless benefits were unchanged last week, remaining at the higher end of recent ranges as uncertainty over the impact of trade wars lingers.
New applications for jobless benefits numbered 248,000 for the week ending June 7, the Labor Department said Thursday. Analysts had forecast 244,000 new applications.
A week ago, there were 248,000 jobless claim applications, which was the most since early October and a sign that layoffs could be trending higher.
Weekly applications for jobless benefits are considered representative of U.S. layoffs and have mostly bounced around a historically healthy range between 200,000 and 250,000 since COVID-19 throttled the economy five years ago, wiping out millions of jobs.
The four-week average of jobless claims, which evens out some of the weekly ups and downs during more volatile stretches, rose by 5,000 to 240,250.
The total number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits for the week of May 31 jumped by 54,000 to 1.96 million, the most since November of 2021.
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USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Greenland isn't for sale. Despite Trump, it wants Americans to visit. Are they?
Greenland isn't for sale. Despite Trump, it wants Americans to visit. Are they? Special Report: As President Donald Trump vows to "get Greenland," direct flights from the U.S. are starting up for the first time. What kind of reception will Americans get? ILULISSAT, Greenland − Much like the luminous and shape-shifting ice sculptures that dominate every sightline in this craggy Arctic Circle town, Greenland's tourism industry is ever expanding, breaking off into new formations, floating past a window. And, for now, both tuning out President Donald Trump and preparing to host more Americans. How's that going to land − for everybody? In Ilulissat, Greenlandic for "icebergs," a new airport is being built for large transatlantic aircraft. Towering construction cranes dot the rocky promontory on which the town − population 5,000 − sits. Fishing boats and tour operators zip in and out of a busy harbor fronted by a state-of-the-art shrimp peeling and processing factory. There's a plan afoot for another new hotel that will look out over waters full of the seal, whale and narwhal that congregate around Qeqertarsuaq, or Disko Island, the world's largest island's largest island. But while Trump himself has not traveled to Ilulissat despite his pledge to "get Greenland" from Denmark for national security reasons, more Americans almost certainly will. On June 14 − Trump's birthday − United Airlines will begin direct U.S.-Greenland flights, making it far easier for them to visit a place their president says the U.S. will acquire "one way or the other." Never mind that Greenlanders and their ultimate political masters in Copenhagen have made it clear they aren't buying whatever it is Trump is selling when it comes to his Greenland overtures. 'One way or the other': Five ways Trump's Greenland saga could play out "We don't care where our visitors come from," said Ulrik Amdi Sørensen, manager of Hotel Arctic, a sprawling site with lodgings, two restaurants and conference rooms perched on a hillside with views of Ilulissat Icefjord. The icefjord is a UNESCO world heritage area, meaning it has cultural, historical or scientific significance that gives it legal protections. It is the "sea mouth" of Sermeq Kujalleq, a glacier in western Greenland about 155 miles north of the Arctic Circle. Its ice sheet produces around 10% of Greenland's icebergs. As far as glaciers with reputations go, it has one: In 1912, an iceberg chunk "calved" from the face of Sermeq Kujalleq drifted out to sea, appeared out of the mist and slammed into the Titanic on its disastrous maiden voyage. Greenland gets closer to the U.S. United's flights will go to Nuuk, Greenland's capital, about 350 miles south of Ilulissat. Nuuk opened its own expanded international airport in 2024, enabling Trump's eldest son, Don Jr., to land there on his father's "Trump Force One" private plane for a day trip in January. That visit unsettled locals because of the president's Greenland comments. They were also offended when they saw members of Donald Trump Jr.'s entourage hand out $100 bills, food and "Make Greenland Great Again" hats to homeless people to lure them to an event. A few months later, Vice President JD Vance and his wife Usha confined a planned Greenland visit to a remote Arctic military base after it became apparent Greenlanders didn't want to speak with them − not least because they arrived during an election. Usha Vance's Greenland adventure: Why it got derailed by a dogsled race across ice and snow However, Ilulissat and its icebergs are Greenland's biggest tourist draw. Scientists classify their shapes as "tabular," "sloping," "pinnacled," "dry-docked" and "blocky," among other descriptors. To the untrained eye, they resemble anything from a pancake to a herd of elephants; from a spiky skyscraper to a blob of the classic Italian dessert tiramisu. Icebergs can be blue, yellow, black. They can even look like striped candies. Like characterizing an iceberg, it's difficult to precisely pinpoint how many Americans are currently traveling to Greenland. According to Visit Greenland, the territory's tourist agency, about 145,000 tourists overall visited in 2024, the majority of them arriving on large cruise ships. Most stay ashore for only a few hours at a time. In 2024, just over 4,700 travelers from North America stayed overnight in a hotel room in Greenland. What's clear, said Tanny Por, who directs Visit Greenland's international marketing and promotion efforts, is that Greenland has received a lot more attention "for many different reasons in the past six months." She cited the new airports, United's direct flights and also coming direct flights from Copenhagen to Nuuk with Scandinavian Airlines. Distorted maps have misled you: Greenland isn't as big as you think Por said it was too early to gauge how Trump's interest in Greenland has impacted bookings for Americans. Still, Hotel Arctic's Sørensen estimated just 5% of guests at his hotel in a typical year come from the U.S. He expected that to increase because of the new flights to Nuuk, Ilulissat's airport expansion scheduled to finish in 2026 and because, well, because Trump has effectively helped put Greenland "on the map." Sørensen also acknowledged the attention Trump has brought to Greenland, shaking its relative Arctic anonymity, is weighing on the minds of some of his guests. "Most of the Americans who have stayed with us this year have immediately told us when they arrive: 'We don't support Trump,'" he said. Pentagon's Greenland oversight: US military on verge of shifting it, reports says In Nuuk, a boutique named Outdoor Greenland recently sold out of a T-shirt it with the phrase 'Greenland Is Not for Sale' emblazoned on it. On a recent afternoon, a young woman working in the store said the item proved hugely popular with tourists and Greenlanders alike. "I guess they served their purpose," said Nora Gelskov. Trump pledges to 'get Greenland' as direct flights from US start As Trump vows to "get Greenland," direct flights from the U.S. are starting. What reception will Americans get? A visitor in disconnected Greenland Greenland's cities, towns and settlements are not connected by road. The only way for tourists to move around is by boat, plane or helicopter. If visitors make it to Ilulissat during Greenland's summer season, which typically runs June through August, they will find a place that, to outsiders, retains the feel of a rugged frontier town. Workers in overalls walk down dusty streets that turn into dusty tracks before petering out to nowhere. Houses are made of wood and painted bright shades of red, yellow or blue. They are built directly on top of rocky terrain, with their waste and water pipes exposed. There's no high school. 'Buy us!': Greenlanders shocked, intrigued, bewildered by Trump zeal for Arctic territory Zion's Church, erected in the late 18th century and once the island's largest building, is now probably the most photographed church in all Greenland. On a recent afternoon − Or was it 3 am? It's hard to sell when the sun never sets − its steep-pitched roof and dark-brown wooden facade solemnly stared out at Disko Bay's glittering icebergs. A reporter counted three supermarkets in Ilulissat. In addition to Danish chocolates, meat and dairy products, and a sprinkling of well-traveled summer fruit, they sell power tools, car oil and various gear that looked like it could prove useful on a seal, whale or caribou hunt, a normal feature of life for Greenland's Inuit communities. They make up almost 90% of the island's 57,000 inhabitants. Half say it's a bad idea: What Americans think of Trump's plans to acquire Greenland Greenland: icebergs vs. dogs Still, if icebergs dictate Ilulissat's visual landscape, dogs are in charge of how it sounds. (Icebergs also make noise.) Dog sledding has been a part of the Greenlandic identity for thousands of years. In winter, dogs are used for hunting, fishing and to travel between settlements. In Ilulissat, there's an estimated 2,200 husky-type sled dogs − nearly one for every two humans. Throughout the day − also at night − Ilulissat's dogs could be heard howling, barking in a squeaky high pitch and generally carrying on from the fields and hillsides on the town's edge where they are kept. They sat around, frolicked, snoozed, wondered about their next meal, and licked pups or themselves. "People ask us: Why do you still keep dogs?" said Flemming Lauritzen, who set up Arctic Living Ilulissat, a dog sledding center that runs tours and educational activities, with his wife Ane Sofie. "I tell them: 'Imagine sledding into the mountains in December,'" he said. "'It's dark. A full moon. Newly fallen snow. Maybe the Northern Lights are there. When you arrive at your spot, you overlook the whole ice sheet shining like a sugar bowl. The only sound is of the dogs' breath. Magical.'" Head of Greenland base fired: The crime? Criticizing Vance's trip and Trump's plans Dog sledding in retreat Dog sledding, according to the Lauritzens, is also slowly vanishing. Among the threats: fuel-efficient snowmobiles; a changing climate melting the ice and shortening the season; and infrastructure development for tourists, which erodes available land where the dogs are kept. Thirty years ago, there were 30,000 sled dogs in Greenland. Now there's half that. "We are not opposed to tourists. The people that fly in, they're not the problem − Americans or anyone else," said Ane Sofie, speaking inside a cosy wooden cabin the couple built to receive visitors at the center. On the walls were maps detailing their expeditions and traditional Greenlandic cold-weather garments made from animal hide and fur. Outside, about 30 of their dogs munched on dinner: fish scraps. "It's the cruise ships," she added. "People get dropped off in our little town, buy a lot of the food and goods in the supermarkets, which means people like us often can't get the essentials we need." Destination Greenland? Jens Lauridsen is the CEO of Greenland Airports, the government-owned operator of the territory's 13 airports. After United announced in October 2024 it would be flying to Nuuk, Lauridsen was quoted in a company press release saying the move would "significantly enhance Greenland's visibility on the global stage." Lauridsen was almost right. Trump got there first. He has done much of the heavy lifting. Why Trump wants Greenland: military security, rare minerals, trade routes, for starters In an interview, Lauridsen said he is confident the United flights would "grow tourism from North America" despite the recent political backdrop. He believes most Greenlanders "see a benefit from tourism," though it represents a relatively small part of Greenland's economy compared to fisheries and a grant from Denmark, the largest inputs. "The question is how fast it develops," he said. Senior members of Greenland's government, tired or perhaps just wary, of talking about Trump's Greenland obsession declined an opportunity to comment. But Kuno Fencker, an opposition lawmaker who wants Greenland to become independent from Denmark as soon as the conditions are right, said he believes the government made a mistake by choosing not to expand of all Greenland's airports, focusing only on the ones in Nuuk and Ilulissat. "Of course we want more tourists. We also want to diversify our economy," he said. A spokesperson for United declined to reveal how well its flights to Nuuk have sold. 'A real Danish beer': The Americans are already here USA TODAY came across few Americans in Greenland over the course of a week. One couple, off a cruise ship they boarded in Baltimore, made a brief stop at a Nuuk hotel because they wanted to get a "real Danish beer." Another, from Oregon, made a last-minute decision to fly to Nuuk from Iceland, where they had been vacationing. Both couples said they found the scenery stunning, Greenlanders polite and friendly, and thought many Americans would agree. However, they wondered if recent geopolitics might dissuade some potential visitors. Greenland's a No: What territories has the U.S. purchased? 'Yeah I don't know. Maybe' In one sense, Americans have already made their mark in Greenland. So have Jamaicans. On a recent day, Arnaq Bourup Egede was at work in an Ilulissat store called "Malibu," named after the strip of beaches near Los Angeles. Malibu the store sells a Greenland-designed urban-and-sports-wear label called "Bolt Lamar," a joining of the names of Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt and U.S. musician Kendrick Lamar. "Yeah. I don't know. Maybe," Egede said in response to a reporter's question about whether she wanted more American tourists to show up in Greenland, and whether she viewed them as a boost, a burden or neither. In terms of land mass, Greenland is enormous, equivalent to three Texases. It's also a small place. Egede plays for Greenland's women's national soccer team when she's not working in the store. Her brother is Greenland's former prime minister, Múte Bourup Egede. Egede paused. She thought about the question some more. She likes reggae music. A large picture of the Jamaican star Bob Marley leaned on an upper shelf near the register. Bob Marley and the Wailers' 1977 song "Waiting in Vain" played on the stereo. "I'm not against American tourists," Egede finally said. She added that there were other branches of the business she worked in spread across Greenland's cities. They were called "California," "Miami" and "Alaska." Kim Hjelmgaard in an international correspondent for USA TODAY. Follow him on Bluesky, Instagram and LinkedIn. Contributing: Jennifer Borresen
CNBC
an hour ago
- CNBC
Who benefits from Republicans' 'big beautiful' bill depends largely on income. Children are no exception
House reconciliation legislation, also known as the One, Big, Beautiful Bill, includes changes aimed at helping to boost family's finances. Those proposals — including $1,000 investment "Trump Accounts" for newborns and an enhanced maximum $2,500 child tax credit — would help support eligible parents. Proposed tax cuts in the bill may also provide up to $13,300 more in take-home pay for the average family with two children, House Republicans estimate. "What we're trying to do is help hardworking Americans who are trying to provide for their families and make ends meet," House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said during a June 8 interview with ABC News' "This Week." Yet the proposed changes, which emphasize work requirements, may reduce aid for children in low-income families when it comes to certain tax credits, health coverage and food assistance. Households in the lowest decile of the income distribution would lose about $1,600 per year, or about 3.9% of their income, from 2026 through 2034, according to a June 12 letter from the Congressional Budget Office. That loss is mainly due to "reductions in in-kind transfers," it notes — particularly Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, formerly known as food stamps. House Republicans have proposed increasing the maximum child tax credit to $2,500 per child, up from $2,000, a change that would go into effect starting with tax year 2025 and expire after 2028. The change would increase the number of low-income children who are locked out of the child tax credit because their parents' income is too low, according to Adam Ruben, director of advocacy organization Economic Security Project Action. The tax credit is not refundable, meaning filers can't claim it if they don't have a tax obligation. Today, there are 17 million children who either receive no credit or a partial credit because their family's income is too low, Ruben said. Under the House Republicans' plan, that would increase by 3 million children. Consequently, 20 million children would be left out of the full child tax credit because their families earn too little, he said. "It is raising the credit for wealthier families while excluding those vulnerable families from the credit," Ruben said. "And that's not a pro-family policy." A single parent with two children would have to earn at least $40,000 per year to access the full child tax credit under the Republicans' plan, he said. For families earning the minimum wage, it may be difficult to meet that threshold, according to Ruben. In contrast, an enhanced child tax credit put in place under President Joe Biden made it fully refundable, which means very low-income families were eligible for the maximum benefit, according to Elaine Maag, senior fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. In 2021, the maximum child tax credit was $3,600 for children under six and $3,000 for children ages 6 to 17. That enhanced credit cut child poverty in half, Maag said. However, immediately following the expiration, child poverty increased, she said. The current House proposal would also make about 4.5 million children who are citizens ineligible for the child tax credit because they have at least one undocumented parent who files taxes with an individual tax identification number, Ruben said. Those children are currently eligible for the child tax credit based on 2017 tax legislation but would be excluded based on the new proposal, he said. House Republicans also want to change the earned income tax credit, or EITC, which targets low- to middle-income individuals and families, to require precertification to qualify. When a similar requirement was tried about 20 years ago, it resulted in some eligible families not getting the benefit, Maag said. The new prospective administrative barrier may have the same result, she said. House Republican lawmakers' plan includes almost $300 billion in proposed cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, through 2034. SNAP currently helps more than 42 million people in low-income families afford groceries, according to Katie Bergh, senior policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Children represent roughly 40% of SNAP participants, she said. More than 7 million people may see their food assistance either substantially reduced or ended entirely due to the proposed cuts in the House reconciliation bill, estimates CBPP. Notably, that total includes more than 2 million children. "We're talking about the deepest cut to food assistance ever, potentially, if this bill becomes law," Bergh said. More from Personal Finance:Experts weigh pros and cons of $1,000 Trump baby bonus How Trump spending bill may curb low-income tax credit Why millions would lose health insurance under House spending bill Under the House proposal, work requirements would apply to households with children for the first time, Bergh said. Parents with children over the age of 6 would be subject to those rules, which limit people to receiving food assistance for just three months in a three-year period unless they work a minimum 20 hours per week. Additionally, the House plan calls for states to fund 5% to 25% of SNAP food benefits — a departure from the 100% federal funding for those benefits for the first time in the program's history, Bergh said. States, which already pay to help administer SNAP, may face tough choices in the face of those higher costs. That may include cutting food assistance or other state benefits or even doing away with SNAP altogether, Bergh said. While the bill does not directly propose cuts to school meal programs, it does put children's eligibility for them at risk, according to Bergh. Children who are eligible for SNAP typically automatically qualify for free or reduced school meals. If a family loses SNAP benefits, their children may also miss out on those benefits, Bergh said. Families with children may face higher health care costs and reduced access to health care depending on how states react to federal spending cuts proposed by House Republicans, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The House Republican bill seeks to slash approximately $1 trillion in spending from Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program and Affordable Care Act marketplaces. Medicaid work requirements may make low-income individuals vulnerable to losing health coverage if they are part of the expansion group and are unable to document they meet the requirements or qualify for an exemption, according to CBPP. Parents and pregnant women, who are on the list of exemptions, could be susceptible to losing coverage without proper documentation, according to the non-partisan research and policy institute. Eligible children may face barriers to access Medicaid and CHIP coverage if the legislation blocks a rule that simplifies enrollment in those programs, according to CBPP. In addition, an estimated 4.2 million individuals may be uninsured in 2034 if enhanced premium tax credits that help individuals and families afford health insurance are not extended, according to CBO estimates. Meanwhile, those who are covered by marketplace plans would have to pay higher premiums, according to CBPP. Without the premium tax credits, a family of four with $65,000 in income would pay $2,400 more per year for marketplace coverage.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
'It is essential': Riders and advocates plea for a lifeline for RIPTA
PROVIDENCE - Public transportation advocates are making a final push for state lawmakers to rescue the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority from a looming budget crisis that, if unaddressed, could slash bus service across the state. They came to the House Finance Committee in support of a slate of bills that would close or partly close a projected $33 million RIPTA budget deficit for the year starting July 1, protecting bus routes and transportation for the disabled. Jean Ann Giuliano of East Greenwich said RIPTA service had been a "game changer" for her 28-year-old autistic son, allowing him to live independently and ride it to his job at CVS. "RIPTA for him is a lifeline. It is not a convenience for James, it is a necessity. It is essential," Giuliano said at a May 21 House Finance Committee meeting. "Last year, the bus he takes was on the chopping block ... fortunately it was saved. This year it is probably going to be on the chopping block again and for us it is panic time." Amy Jo Glidden, co-chair of Rhode Island Transit Riders, said the cuts to bus service that would be required without money budgeted for transit would result in layoffs at RIPTA, routes cut or made less frequent, and lost jobs across the state by people who are no longer able to get to work. "This issue is personal for me. I do not own a car and rely on the bus to get around," Glidden said. "If RIPTA does not get the $32 million, catastrophe awaits." RIPTA's budget woes have reached this crisis point over the course of many years, but like most transit agencies in the United States, accelerated during the COVID pandemic. The pandemic cratered ridership and sent costs spiraling, but for four years federal aid plugged the revenue gap. Gov. Dan McKee has not suggested any new funding ideas for RIPTA. The "Save RIPTA" alliance has backed seven different public transit funding bills and it is not clear which have the best chance of passing. They include: Appropriating $32 million in the state budget Borrowing $100 million for transit Shifting more gas tax collections to RIPTA Dedicating taxes collected from ride-hailing companies such as Uber to transit Using every year of inflation to calculate the every-two-year gas tax increase (currently only the most recent year is counted.) Last year, the General Assembly provided $15 million − the other half of the deficit was plugged with the last remaining COVID funds − but made no move toward funding the agency long term. The one string attached to the $15 million was a requirement that RIPTA conduct an "efficiency study" by March that would search for ways to run the bus system at lower cost or in a way that generates more revenue. But last year was also a time of turmoil at RIPTA and, after the ouster of former CEO Scott Avedisian, the bus system's board of directors opted to give new CEO Chris Durand's team and consultants more time to search for efficiencies. On Thursday, May 22, Durand told the RIPTA board that the study was still being finished and he expected more documents from it to be available next week. RIPTA did send a "best practices review" of other similar-sized transit agencies from study consultant WSP to lawmakers May 16. It recommended, among other things, eliminating underperforming routes, increasing eligibility verification for paratransit service and shifting some service to "microtransit." On the revenue side, the report said agencies could look for more advertising opportunities. House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi said May 22 he has more requests for spending than the state has revenue and he expects RIPTA to find efficiencies. "They have to right the ship," he said about RIPTA. "The reality is they have to change. Public transit is important, for the economy and environment ... We gave them an extra $15 million and all I asked for is an efficiency study that's behind schedule." The only bill in the Save RIPTA package that McKee's administration has weighed in on is a proposal to shift some gas tax proceeds from highway projects to transit. Transportation Secretary Peter Alviti Jr., who is also the RIPTA board chairman, wrote to lawmakers that the Department of Transportation opposes the bill because it would "result in an annual loss of approximately $7 million, significantly impacting our capital program." Liza Burkin, board president of the Providence Streets Coalition, argued at the Finance Committee meeting that it is past time state leaders start making long-term decisions about RIPTA. "It is very sad we are still in the same place. We have studied this over and over and over and over," Burkin said. "The Save RIPTA campaign has chosen seven different ways of funding RIPTA. They are diverse, different ways. It is up to you all to decide. Just choose one or two." This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RIPTA is heading toward a crisis. Riders are begging for a lifeline.
