Millions of Americans join unemployment line as COVID-19 savages economy

WASHINGTON: A stunning 26.5 million Americans have sought unemployment benefits since mid-March, confirming that all the jobs gained during the longest employment boom in US history have been wiped out as COVID-19 savages the economy.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits totalled a seasonally-adjusted 4.427 million for the week ended Apr 18, the Labor Department said. That compared to 5.237 million in the prior week. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 4.2 million claims in the latest week.Since Mar 21, 26.453 million people have filed claims for unemployment benefits, representing 16.2 per cent of the labour force.

A handful of Republican-led states are reopening their economies, despite warnings from health experts of a potential new surge in infections. Economists also warn that there is no guarantee that Americans will feel safe to visit shopping malls. The National Bureau of Economic Research, the private research institute regarded as the arbiter of US recessions, does not define a recession as two consecutive quarters of decline in real GDP, as is the rule of thumb in many countries. Instead, it looks for a drop in activity, spread across the economy and lasting more than a few months.

Florida, which together with Tennessee, South Carolina and Georgia is reopening businesses this weekend, continued to see a surge in claims last week. But New York and Michigan reported fewer applications. Georgia reported a drop in claims.

Source: Financial Digest (financialdigest.net)

Europe's Economy Was Hit Hard Too, But Jobs Didn't Disappear Like In The U.S. Economy Unemployment Coronavirus

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