Coronavirus Pushed 3.3 Mn To Claim US Jobless Benefits

The coronavirus pandemic and economic shutdown caused unemployment benefit filings by Americans workers to surge to 3.3 million last week -- the highest number ever recorded, the Labor Department reported Thursday

Washington, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 26th Mar, 2020 ) :The coronavirus pandemic and economic shutdown caused unemployment benefit filings by Americans workers to surge to 3.3 million last week -- the highest number ever recorded, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

The normally routine report is at the frontlines of the economic crisis caused by the outbreak, which has forced widespread closures of restaurants, shops and hotels, and brought airline travel to a virtual halt, prompting the stunning increase in people filing for benefits nationwide in the week ending March 21.

Nearly every state cited COVID-19 for the jump in initial jobless claims, with heavy impacts in food services, accommodation, entertainment and recreation, healthcare and transportation, the report said.