1.9M New Jobless Claims, 42M Since Lockdowns Began

The Guardian reports:

Another 1.9 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week as the total number of claims passed 42 million since the coronavirus pandemic hit the US.

The pace of layoffs has slowed dramatically from its peak of 6.6M at the start of April as states start to relax quarantine orders and last week was the ninth consecutive week of declines.

But the scale of layoffs remains staggeringly high. In the worst week of the last recession “just” 665,000 people filed for unemployment. On Friday the Labor Department will release May’s monthly jobs report. Economists are predicting unemployment will rise to close to 20% from 14.7% in April.