Coronavirus batters US economy as 6.65m file for unemployment last week | The Guardian - Dominic Rushe & Lauren Aratani:
April 2, 2020 - "More than 6.65 million people filed for unemployment benefits in the US last week, the latest official figures to highlight the devastating economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the American economy. The federal labor department announced that a new record number of people sought benefits after losing their jobs in the week ending 27 March as long lines formed at unemployment offices, phone lines jammed and websites collapsed under the weight of claims across the US.
"Some 3.3 million had filed for unemployment the previous week, bringing total claims to 9.95 million for the two weeks. More people have filed for unemployment in the last two weeks than filed in the last 10 months.The US now faces the sharpest rise in unemployment in its history, a surge that is already highlighting income inequality across the nation and comes as the global economy goes into a nosedive that is likely to exacerbate the situation in the months ahead....
"'We are at the mercy of the virus," said William Rodgers, former chief economist at the US Department of Labor. Rodgers calculates US unemployment, 3.5% in February, has already reached 17% in just two weeks and that rates for African Americans have soared to 19% from 5.8%....
"With large parts of the US now on lockdown, millions of people working in retail, restaurants, travel, hotels and leisure industries have lost their jobs and the losses are spreading. Oil and gas companies are laying off workers as oil prices collapse and engineering firms including General Electric are cutting staff as the airline industry grinds to a halt....
"Before last week the sharpest rise in unemployment claims was in 1982 when filings rose by 695,000.
"On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will release its first monthly jobs report since the Covid crisis hit the US. It is expected to show the first rise in unemployment in more than nine years. The figures were collected in the middle of last month, before General Electric, Macy’s, Marriott and others laid off workers. Economists are forecasting a rise to 4% unemployment, up from a 50-year low of 3.5% in February.... The figure will probably be revised sharply upwards next month when more data is available."
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/apr/02/us-unemployment-coronavirus-economy
April 2, 2020 - "More than 6.65 million people filed for unemployment benefits in the US last week, the latest official figures to highlight the devastating economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the American economy. The federal labor department announced that a new record number of people sought benefits after losing their jobs in the week ending 27 March as long lines formed at unemployment offices, phone lines jammed and websites collapsed under the weight of claims across the US.
"Some 3.3 million had filed for unemployment the previous week, bringing total claims to 9.95 million for the two weeks. More people have filed for unemployment in the last two weeks than filed in the last 10 months.The US now faces the sharpest rise in unemployment in its history, a surge that is already highlighting income inequality across the nation and comes as the global economy goes into a nosedive that is likely to exacerbate the situation in the months ahead....
"'We are at the mercy of the virus," said William Rodgers, former chief economist at the US Department of Labor. Rodgers calculates US unemployment, 3.5% in February, has already reached 17% in just two weeks and that rates for African Americans have soared to 19% from 5.8%....
"With large parts of the US now on lockdown, millions of people working in retail, restaurants, travel, hotels and leisure industries have lost their jobs and the losses are spreading. Oil and gas companies are laying off workers as oil prices collapse and engineering firms including General Electric are cutting staff as the airline industry grinds to a halt....
"Before last week the sharpest rise in unemployment claims was in 1982 when filings rose by 695,000.
"On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will release its first monthly jobs report since the Covid crisis hit the US. It is expected to show the first rise in unemployment in more than nine years. The figures were collected in the middle of last month, before General Electric, Macy’s, Marriott and others laid off workers. Economists are forecasting a rise to 4% unemployment, up from a 50-year low of 3.5% in February.... The figure will probably be revised sharply upwards next month when more data is available."
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/apr/02/us-unemployment-coronavirus-economy
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