Thursday, April 2, 2020

6.6 Million Laid Off

View this post on Instagram

More than 6.6 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week. The record 6,648,000 seasonally adjusted claims figure comes after 3.3 million sought benefits two weeks ago. Claims have skyrocketed after large segments of the U.S. economy shut down in response to government orders aimed at combating the coronavirus pandemic. Economists had expected claims to remain around 3 to 4 million but few had confidence about such forecasts in light of the rapidly changing economic conditions. On an unadjusted basis, new claims came in at 5.8 million. Some economists will look to that as a more accurate read of the labor market because seasonal adjustments are less relevant in the unusual circumstances prevailing now. Initial jobless claims are a proxy for layoffs. The extremely high levels recorded in the past two weeks are an indication that businesses have let go millions of workers as demand for goods and services, as well as the ability to provide them, has fallen dramatically due to fears of the virus and orders to stay at home. The layoffs are widespread across the U.S., according to state-by-state data reported with a one week delay. All states reported increases in initial claims for the week ending March 21. The largest increases were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Massachusetts, Texas, and California. The smallest increases were in the Virgin Islands, South Dakota, West Virginia, Vermont, and Wyoming.

A post shared by Breitbart (@wearebreitbart) on





View this post on Instagram

JUST IN: The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits surged to more than 6.6 million last week, breaking a record high for the second week in a row as more states and cities enforced strict stay-at-home measures in an attempt to stop the coronavirus pandemic. ⁣ ⁣Claims between the period of March 21 and March 28 blew past the previous week's record of 3.3 million, according to the weekly jobless claims report from the Labor Department published on Thursday. ⁣ ⁣That brings the total number of Americans who filed for unemployment over the past two weeks to nearly 10 million, a stunning sign of the colossal economic damage inflicted by the outbreak. ⁣ ⁣The report, which provides the most up-to-date evidence on the labor market and the health of the economy, likely reinforces economists' views that the U.S. has already entered a recession, bringing to end a historically long, 11-year economic expansion. ⁣ ⁣Lawmakers are looking to provide relief to laid-off workers with a $2 trillion stimulus package, the largest relief bill in recent memory, that President Trump signed last week. In addition to giving adults who earn less than $99,000 annually up to $1,200 cash checks, the bill expanded unemployment benefits. ⁣ ⁣(Re-gram: @FoxBusiness)

A post shared by Fox News (@foxnews) on

at
Labels: , ,