Over 40 Million Americans, One In Four, Have Filed For Unemployment

Since the novel coronavirus broke out in the U.S. in early March, over 40 million Americans have filed for first-time unemployment benefits. Proportionately, one in four Americans has requested unemployment insurance.

Only last week, 2.1 million more people made Governmental jobless claims, the Department of Labor announced Thursday.

With over 100,000 people dying from the coronavirus, Americans are now losing their jobs and concerned about their financial stability. Last week followed a ten-week streak in which jobless claims were in the millions.

Before COVID-19, the U.S. had never registered more than one million claims in a single week.

The claims are now decreasing after reaching their pinnacle in late March, two weeks after the onset of coronavirus. Previously, claims averaged 200,000 per week.

With the seasonal adjustment into account, jobless claims would still amount to 1.9 million, an unprecedented number.

Government assistance for the unemployed was extended to freelancers, as the pandemic has deeply affected those workers, in particular. Only last week, 1.2 million freelancers applied for the extended program to receive financial assistance.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics provided additional data that forecast a further increase in job losses over the month of May. According to the projections, 7.5 million more people will lose their jobs by the end of the month, and the unemployment rate will be nearing 20%.

In April, the U.S. economy registered 20.5 million losses in jobs, with unemployment rates increasing to 14.7%.

The recovery of the U.S. economy is set to happen slowly and in a very heterogeneous fashion across the country.

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Article by Antonio Clibrizzi