A record number of Americans have filed for unemployment benefits for a second straight week as a nationwide coronavirus lockdown continues to force layoffs.
US weekly jobless claims jumped to 6.64 million in the week that ended Saturday, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That is more than double the prior week’s report, which itself reflected filings that more than quadrupled the previous record.
“It’s remarkable,” the Bank of America economist Joseph Song told Business Insider. “These are unprecedented numbers, but we’re also facing an unprecedented pandemic,” he said, adding that the report was consistent with the strict containment measures seen around the US to try to curb the spread of the disease COVID-19.
Unemployment claims had spiked to a then-record 3.28 million for the week that ended March 21. Now, almost 10 million Americans have filed for unemployment in just two weeks.
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Article URL : https://www.businessinsider.com/us-weekly-jobless-claims-unemployment-filings-record-labor-market-coronavirus-2020-4