US jobless claims double to record 6.65 mln last week as COVID-19 devastates economy

0 Comment(s)Print E-mail Xinhua, April 3, 2020
Adjust font size:
A resident wearing mask is seen in a metro station in Washington D.C., the United States, March 31, 2020. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)

The number of initial jobless claims in the United States surged by 3.34 million to reach 6.65 million last week as COVID-19 devastates the economy, setting a second straight record, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Thursday.

In the week ending March 28, the number of people filing for U.S. unemployment benefits spiked by 3,341,000 to 6,648,000, the bureau said.

The newly released number came after the figure spiked by 3 million to reach a record 3.3 million in the previous week, which was revised up slightly to 3.31 million.

"The COVID-19 virus continues to impact the number of initial claims. Nearly every state providing comments cited the COVID-19 virus," according to the report.

The bureau noted "states continued to identify increases related to the services industries broadly, again led by accommodation and food services."

However, state comments indicated a wider impact across industries. "Many states continued to cite the health care and social assistance, and manufacturing industries, while an increasing number of states identified the retail and wholesale trade and construction industries," the bureau said.

The report showed that the 4-week moving average, a method to iron out data volatility, increased by 1,607,750 to 2,612,000. The previous week's level of initial claims was revised up by 6,000 to 1,004,250.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending March 21 was 3,029,000, an increase of 1,245,000 from the previous week's revised level, the report said. This is the highest level for insured unemployment since July 6, 2013, when it was 3,079,000.

More and more states and local officials have closed non-essential businesses and ordered residents to stay home in a bid to slow the spread of the virus, effectively shutting down a significant part of the economy.

To cushion the economic impact of the epidemic, the U.S. Congress last week approved a long-awaited 2-trillion-dollar relief package, which includes measures to stabilize the labor market, such as emergency loans for small businesses, business tax breaks, unemployment benefits expansion, and 1,000-dollar-plus direct payments for working Americans.

The United States has reported more than 210,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and over 5,100 deaths as of Thursday morning, according to a data tracking tool developed by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. 

Follow China.org.cn on Twitter and Facebook to join the conversation.
ChinaNews App Download
Print E-mail Bookmark and Share

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)

No comments.

Add your comments...

  • User Name Required
  • Your Comment
  • Enter the words you see:   
    Racist, abusive and off-topic comments may be removed by the moderator.
Send your storiesGet more from China.org.cnMobileRSSNewsletter