Another 1.1 million Americans filed initial claims for unemployment benefits on a seasonally adjusted basis last week, dashing economists’ hopes for a second-straight week with fewer than 1 million claims.

Economists were optimistic that the US jobs market would be on a steady trajectory toward recovery. But last week’s claims exceeded forecasts after the previous week’s report was the first below 1 million since March, the Department of Labor reported Thursday.

Without seasonal adjustments, 891,510 people filed regular first-time claims for benefits. On top of that, claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, which Congress introduced during the coronavirus pandemic, also rose to 542,797. Adding these numbers together, unadjusted first-time claims stood at 1.4 million last week.