The number of Americans filing for initial unemployment benefits surged to 6.65 million in the week ending March 28, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Thursday, obliterating the previous record of 3.3 million, set only the week before.
Thursday’s numbers likely understate the true scale of people thrown out of work, given the self-employed and gig workers only gained eligibility to state and federal unemployment benefits on Friday after President Donald Trump signed an historic $2.2 trillion virus relief package into law. Many state unemployment offices have also been overwhelmed by a tsunami of applications.
Initial jobless claims is the most timely data point for assessing the damage wrought by COVID-19 on the US economy as virus containment measures force businesses to close all over the country, throwing millions out of work.
Al Jazeera’s Rosiland Jordan has more from Washington, DC.
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