Last week, 900,000 Americans filed for first-time unemployment benefits on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to CNN.

It was a down from the prior week's upswing, when claims increased to 926,000. While it's a positive sign that benefit applications fell again, millions of citizens still need government help to make ends meet, and there haven't been any real improvements for months.

Although Wednesday's inauguration of President Joe Biden encouraged many that more government stimulus may be on the way, help can't come fast enough for the unemployed.

On top of regular claims, 423,734 Americans applied for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, which provides benefits for workers such as the self-employed, the Department of Labor said. This number is not adjusted for seasonal swings.

Added together, first-time claims totaled 1.4 million on an unadjusted basis last week, CNN reports.

The news outlet says that continued jobless claims, which include workers who have applied for aid for at least two weeks in a row, fell to 5.1 million.