3.8 million Americans sought jobless benefits last week, extending pandemic's grip

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Washington Post

More than 3.8 million people filed for unemployment benefits last week, according to the Labor Department, as the coronavirus pandemic’s economic toll burrowed deeper into the American workforce.

The outbreak and subsequent recession have wiped away all jobs created since the 2008 financial crisis. Economists estimate the national unemployment rate sits between 15 and 20 percent, compared to about 25 percent at the peak of the Great Depression. For comparison, 4.4 million people applied for benefits for the week ending April 18. There is no precedent for figures like this in modern American history.

At first, national attention focused on the unprecedented wave of layoffs tied to restaurant and other non-essential businesses, said Tara Sinclair, an economist at the George Washington University and senior fellow of the Indeed Hiring Lab. But it quickly became clear that many more industries were going to be hit by the downturn. Even in the midst of a global pandemic, Sinclair pointed to recent job losses in the health care industry, as surgeries and other elective procedures are cancelled in large numbers.“No job is safe,” Sinclair said.

During normal times, a few hundred thousand people might seek unemployment benefits on any given week, but millions of Americans have filed claims each week for more than a month. This has overwhelmed state processing centers and expedited the debate in Washington about how to respond to the economic turmoil. Many Americans have stopped paying their rent and other bills, and economists are predicting any recovery will stretch well into 2021, and possibly beyond.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/04/30/weekly-jobless-claims-unemployment/

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Full headline: 3.8 million Americans sought jobless benefits last week, extending pandemic’s grip on the national workforce

[UpInArms]

1. U.S. jobless claims climb 3.8 million in late April to push coronavirus total to 30 million

The numbers: Some 3.8 million workers who just lost their jobs applied last week for unemployment benefits, bringing a record number of layoffs during the coronavirus crisis to about 30 million in a month and a half.

The weekly pace of layoffs has slowed since peaking at 6.9 million at the end of March, but millions more are still expected to apply in the next several weeks. And many are still waiting for states to process and approve their claims.

The unprecedented surge in layoffs has pushed the unemployment rate above 15% to the highest levels since the Great Depression, economists estimate. The official jobless rate will be released next week with the Labor Department’s employment report for April.

What happened: Last week, the states of Florida, Georgia, California, Texas and New York reported the biggest increases in new claims, according to the Labor Department.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-jobless-claims-climb-38-million-in-late-april-to-push-coronavirus-total-to-30-million-2020-04-30?mod=mw_latestnews

[oldsoftie]

2. At least each week has been lower than the previous week.

But it doesnt take too many weeks for ALL of us to be unemployed

[BumRushDaShow]

3. I think eventually there may be another smaller wave

to include more public service workers. I think that is why governors and county/municipal officials are sounding the alarms and trying to get money to plug their budget holes.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

4. Thanks. I forgot all about it. From the source:

This is ten pages long.

https://www.dol.gov/ui/data.pdf

News Release
Connect with DOL at https://blog.dol.gov

TRANSMISSION OF MATERIALS IN THIS RELEASE IS EMBARGOED UNTIL 8:30 A.M. (Eastern) Thursday, April 30, 2020

COVID-19 Impact
The COVID-19 virus continues to impact the number of initial claims and insured unemployment.

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

In the week ending April 25, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 3,839,000, a decrease of 603,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 15,000 from 4,427,000 to 4,442,000. The 4-week moving average was 5,033,250, a decrease of 757,000 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 3,750 from 5,786,500 to 5,790,250.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 12.4 percent for the week ending April 18, an increase of 1.5 percentage points from the previous week's revised rate. This marks the highest level of the seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate in the history of the seasonally adjusted series. The previous week's rate was revised down by 0.1 from 11.0 to 10.9 percent. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending April 18 was 17,992,000, an increase of 2,174,000 from the previous week's revised level. This marks the highest level of seasonally adjusted insured unemployment in the history of the seasonally adjusted series. The previous week's level was revised down by 158,000 from 15,976,000 to 15,818,000. The 4-week moving average was 13,292,500, an increase of 3,733,250 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised down by 39,000 from 9,598,250 to 9,559,250.

[BumRushDaShow]

5. And you are usually the one to remind me!

Thank you for the data source!

[mahatmakanejeeves]

6. I'm supposed to be "working."

Good morning.

[BumRushDaShow]

7. But I bet you are doing this--

[stopbush]

8. I was one of them. CA finally opened up the portal for gig workers, 1099 workers,

indie contractors et al to file for UI.

Fingers crossed.

BTW - expect a new wave of filings as more 1099 workers learn they are eligible for UI benefits.

[BumRushDaShow]

9. Yeah here in PA, they put a clearer FAQ to clarify eligibility

https://www.uc.pa.gov/COVID-19/CARES-Act/Pages/PUA-FAQs.aspx

The problem has been the old UI system here was literally in the process of being upgraded when the pandemic hit, so the current system got completely overwhelmed.