WASHINGTON — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell slightly last week to 751,000, a still-historically high level that shows that many employers keep cutting jobs in the face of the accelerating pandemic.

A surge in viral cases and Congress’ failure so far to provide more aid for struggling individuals and businesses are threatening to deepen Americans’ economic pain.

Eight months after the pandemic flattened the economy, weekly jobless claims still point to a stream of layoffs.

Before the virus struck in March, the weekly figure had remained below 300,000 for more than five straight years.