More than 5 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits for the third week in a row, pushing the total number of newly unemployed people to 22 million since the coronavirus crisis forced most businesses to close.
KEY FACTS
- A further 5.2 million people applied for unemployment benefits for the first time in the week ending April 11, the latest report from the Labor Department shows.
- On Tuesday, Goldman Sachs analysts predicted that some 37 million unemployment claims could be made between March and the end of May.
- Thursday’s figures mark a second consecutive decline in claims on the previous week, but whether or not claims have reached their peak remains to be seen.
- This is partly because state employment offices, particularly in New York and Florida, have been overwhelmed by applications.
The coronavirus pandemic haswreaked havoc on the labor market, with social distancing measures forcing thousands of businesses to close, and millions of workers are being laid off or furloughed in the process. Data released by the federal reserve on Wednesday shows manufacturing output fell 6.3% in March and industrial output fell 5.4%—both marking the biggest drop since 1946 and even outdoing the worst drops seen in 2008.
Credit: Forbes