Unemployment benefits: Another 2.4 million Americans filed for jobless insurance
Another 2.4 million Americans filed for first-time benefits last week, the Department of Labor reported on Thursday. In total, 38.6 million people have filed for initial unemployment aid since mid-March, when lockdowns began in full force across the country.
But joblessness remains a crisis in the United States. Wide swaths of the country’s labor market will remain closed as the coronavirus makes returning to work impossible for many Americans. Economists expect many — but not all — jobs will return as the economy reopens. But experts remain concerned that some jobs will be permanently eliminated by this crisis.
Continued jobless claims — which count people filing for unemployment benefits for at least two-weeks in a row — rose to 25.1 million. Economists are paying more attention to how many people are claiming benefits longer-term to understand how the labor market is recovering as the economy is beginning to reopen.
But unemployment claims are not equal to lost jobs. The two numbers are based on different surveys.
This is a developing story. It will be updated