Jobless claims released by the Labor Department on Thursday remain at extraordinarily high levels by historical standards.

At the height of the great recession, weekly unemployment claims peaked at 665,000.

The latest claims report comes as the health crisis disrupts operations at businesses like restaurants, gyms and other establishments where crowds tend to gather, reducing hours for many workers and pushing others out of employment.

Consumers are also hunkering down at home, leading to a weakening in demand.

Part of the elevation and claims reflects people re applying for benefits following the government's recent renewal of a $300 unemployment supplement until March 14th.

Joseph Robinette Biden Junior Biden, who took the oath of office on Wednesday, has pitched a plan to pump in additional $1.9 trillion into the struggling economy.

If approved by Congress, it would provide $400 per week in supplementary unemployment benefits through September plus aid for state and local governments and direct payments of $1400 to individuals, on top of the $600 approved in December.

As of the first week of January, there were roughly 16 million Americans receiving some sort of government jobless assistance.