“2.98 Million U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims, Higher Than Expected”
New claims for unemployment benefits fell to 2.98 million last week, data from the Department of Labor showed Thursday.
That brings new unemployment claims, a proxy for layoffs, since the coronavirus pandemic began to claim jobs eight weeks ago to around 36.5 million.
Economists had been expecting 2.7 million for weekly claims. The prior week was initially reported at 3.169 million and was revised up by 7,000 in this week’s report.
Claims hit a record 6.87 million for the week of March 28. Each subsequent week has seen claims decline. The higher than expected number of claims, however, may point toward a new surge in job losses as shutdowns, social distancing, and stay-at-home orders have hurt businesses and weighed on demand for workers.
We are paying millions of people to stay home, often at salaries higher than they would have earned in restaurants, hair salons, etc. This goes on until late July. Or later, if Democrats get their way. The dependence and despair we are creating is sick and deeply wrong.
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