Coronavirus: Weekly Jobless Claims in US Hit 5.2 Million
The
new Department of Labor filings bring the number of jobless claims over the
last four weeks to more than 20 million.
That
amounts to roughly as many jobs as employers had added over the previous
decade.
The
economic crisis comes as the number of US virus cases exceeds 629,000.
The
surging joblessness is a stark reversal for the world's biggest economy where
the unemployment rate had been hovering around 3.5%. Economists now expect that
rate to have hit double digits.
While
the 5.2 million new claims in the week ended 11 April were down from 6.6
million the previous week, the numbers still eclipse prior records.
Many
economists warn that elevated numbers will linger, with Goldman Sachs
researchers expecting some 37 million claims by the end of May.
"Records are
being broken left and right with respect to the depth and breadth of the
current downturn," said Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at
Bankrate.com.
"With
no immediate end in sight to efforts aimed at mitigating the virus' spread and
impact, it is impossible to see a near-term upturn in employment
prospects."
Electronics chain Best
Buy this week said it would furlough more than 50,000 employees, while Royal
Caribbean Cruises announced it would cut or suspend about a quarter of its
American workforce.
The
moves come as retail sales plunged by a record 8.7%, while manufacturing output
dropped by the most in more than 74 years.
The
US has expanded its unemployment programme, making disbursements bigger and
more people - including the self-employed - eligible. But requests to
participate have overwhelmed state offices, which process the applications.
Glenn
Hawker, co-owner of a now-closed hair salon in Virginia, said he had applied
for the funds as an independent contractor at least twice and been rejected.
When he called to figure out why, he couldn't reach anyone.
"The
phone rings and rings and rings," the 49-year-old said.
Mr
Hawker had also sought assistance through a loan programme for small
businesses, but he has not received any.
On
Thursday, the Small Business Administration, which is in charge of
administering that $349bn programme, announced it had run out of money.
Restaurant owner
George Constantinou last month laid off most of the 130 people who work at the
four businesses he owns in New York and New Jersey, retaining a core group to
continue doing take-out and delivery.
He
said he expected the move would allow the business - which saw sales drop some
80% in the early weeks - to conserve money and workers to receive at least some
pay until he could bring them back.
"I
honestly thought this was a two-week thing," he said. "Then it just
got worse and worse and worse."
Amid
delays to claims processing, some staff have sought his help in applying for
food stamps. If the economic downturn is prolonged, re-hiring everyone may not
make sense, even after he can fully reopen.
"At
this point, we have to take it almost day by day to figure it out," he
said.
US
President Donald Trump is expected to issue "new guidelines" for
reopening the economy in parts of the country where experts believe the rate of
infection is under control.
"There
has to be a balance," he said on Wednesday. "We have to get back to
work."
FROM .bbc.com/news/business
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