A worker, right, hands out paper unemployment applications after a batch of applications in English were brought in, Tuesday, April 7, 2020, at Babcock Park in Hialeah, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
More than 6.6 million people applied for unemployment benefits last week, according to new data from the Department of Labor.
That brings the total number of layoffs since the coronavirus pandemic hit the U.S. economy to 17 million, or 10 percent of the total workforce, in just three weeks.
This is only the latest in a series of historic surges for the unemployment rolls. Two weeks ago, a record-breaking 6.9 million people filed jobless claims. The week before that saw 3.3 million claims, surpassing the former one-week record of 695,000 set in 1982.
One reason for the continued rise in filings is that more people can now apply. The $2.2 trillion stimulus package that Congress passed at the end of last month expanded unemployment insurance to freelancers, independent contractors, and the self-employed.
How this impacts the economy in the long-run is a topic of fierce debate. Economists are projecting unemployment rates of 10 percent to an astonishing 30 percent by this summer.
The unemployment rate for March rose to 4.4 percent, but that doesn't account for the bulk of the economic damage that followed nationwide stay-at-home orders and shutdowns later in the month.
The Federal Reserve followed up the job numbers with the announcement that it would put $2.3 trillion into the economy through new loan programs for small businesses, states, and municipalities.
Alexander Reed, CFA and CIO for Envisage Wealth, breaks down why he thinks rates could stay higher for longer and why real estate, utilities, and regional banks are sectors to avoid.
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It's been 15 years since the last fatal crash of a U.S. airliner, but you wouldn't know that from a torrent of flight problems that made news in the last three months.
Abortion opponents want the high court to ratify a ruling from a conservative federal appeals court that would limit access to a medication called mifepristone, which was used in nearly two-thirds of abortions last year.
Annie Chechitelli, chief product officer at Turnitin, breaks down how students and teachers alike can learn from artificial intelligence – while still maintaining academic integrity.
Neiman Marcus Group CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonck talks luxury shopping and TikTok, why the company prefers to be private for now, and the benefits of flexible work arrangements.
Rebecca Walser, founder and CEO of Walser Wealth Management, discusses how geopolitical conditions, the bifurcated economy, and other volatility could weigh on markets.
