Another 2.4 million Americans file for
unemployment
Dominic
Rushe Dominic Rushe / 21-5-2020
Another 2.4
million Americans filed for unemployment insurance last week even as states
across the US began opening up for business again, betting that the coronavirus
pandemic is now under control.
The latest
figures from the Department of Labor mean close to 39 million Americans have
lost their jobs in just nine weeks. The rate of weekly losses has slowed
sharply from its peak of 6.6m at the start of April but remains at levels
unseen since the 1930s Great Depression.
This week
the treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, said he expects unemployment to
continue to rise as the pandemic takes its toll but warned of “permanent
damage” to the economy if the lockdowns continue too long.
The weekly
jobless claims are seen as a proxy for layoffs but they do not necessarily give
the most accurate picture of the unemployment situation. A claim is an
application for unemployment benefits and not every person who is laid off
immediately applies for benefits. The weekly unemployment claims are also still
being impacted by a backlog collapse of claims that overwhelmed many state
systems.
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