Washington, Jun 12 (IANS): The number of unemployment claims in the US totalled 1.54 million last week as reopening efforts continue across the nation amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Labor Department reported.

In the week ending June 6, the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits decreased by 355,000 from the prior week to 1,542,000, the 10th weekly decline in a row but remaining high on a historical basis, Xinhua news agency quoted the Department as saying on Thursday.

With the latest numbers, over 44 million initial jobless claims have been filed over the past 12 weeks as COVID-19-induced recession sent ripples through the US labour market, indicating the mounting economic fallout of the outbreak.

In the week ending May 30, those who were collecting unemployment benefits declined by 339,000 to reach 20.9 million, according to the report.

The figure previously peaked at 24.9 million in the week ending May 9.

The new report also showed that the four-week moving average, a method to iron out data volatility, decreased by 286,250 to reach 2 million.

The latest data came a week after the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported US employers added 2.5 million jobs in May, and the unemployment rate dropped slightly to 13.3 per cent, though some analysts argued that the unemployment rate is higher than it looks.

The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at the record-low level of near zero, and projected interest rates to remain at the current level through at least 2022.

In a separate statement, the Fed projected that the US economy will shrink by 6.5 per cent in 2020, followed by a 5 per cent gain next year.

According to the central bank's economic projection, the unemployment rate could fall to 9.3 per cent in the fourth quarter of this year, before reaching 6.5 per cent by the end of next year.