12:18 a.m. ET, August 21, 2020
Fact Check: Biden's unemployment claim
From CNN's Tami Luhby and Tal Yellin
In accepting the Democratic nomination for president, Joe Biden tore into the current officeholder, asking Americans to judge President Trump on the facts. Among them: “More than 50 million people have filed for unemployment this year,” Biden said.
Facts first: Biden actually underplayed how many Americans have filed for first-time unemployment claims.
More than 57 million people have filed initial jobless claims since March 21, when the coronavirus pandemic prompted state officials to require people to stay at home and non-essential businesses to close, leading a record number of Americans to apply for benefits.Another 15 million people have applied under the temporary pandemic unemployment assistance program, which Congress created as part of its $2 trillion coronavirus relief package in late March.
It broadens the nation’s unemployment program to those who don’t typically qualify, including freelancers, gig workers, the self-employed and independent contractors. It also is open to certain people who lost their jobs because of the coronavirus, including those who have to stay at home because their children’s schools have closed.