Another 965,000 people filed for first-time unemployment benefits on a seasonally adjusted basis in the United States last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

CNN reports that this number is substantially higher than what was reported last week, which stated that 784,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits.

According to CNN, weekly first-time jobless claims are stuck at an uncomfortably high level. In late August, the figure dropped below 1 million, but since then, significant improvements have been hard to come by -- and last week represented a huge step in the wrong direction.

On top of regular claims, 284,470 workers filed claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, CNN reports. The program grants support to people like the self-employed or gig workers, who aren't covered under regular benefits. After the new stimulus deal extended the program, it is now scheduled to conclude in March.

Added together, initial benefit claims totaled 1.4 million last week, excluding seasonal adjustments, according to CNN.

Continued claims, which count workers who have claimed aid for at least two weeks in a row, totaled to 5.3 million in the week ended January 2.