U.S. jobless claims total 5 mln last week amid COVID-19 fallout
WASHINGTON. KAZINFORM The number of initial jobless claims in the United States totaled 5.2 million last week as the COVID-19 fallout ripples through the workforce, following staggering figures of over 6 million in the previous two weeks, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday.
In the week ending April 11, the number of people filing for U.S. unemployment benefits decreased by 1.37 million to 5.25 million, raising the four-week total to more than 20 million amid mounting economic fallout from COVID-19, Xinhua reports.
The newly released number came after the figure spiked by 3 million to reach a record 3.3 million in the week ending March 21, and surged to 6.87 million in the week ending March 28, and then totaled 6.62 million in the week ending April 4.
The report also showed that the four-week moving average, a method to iron out data volatility, increased by 1.24 million to reach 5.5 million.
An employee wearing a mask works at a store during the COVID-19 pandemic in New York, the United States, April 13, 2020. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua)
COVID-19 continues to impact the number of initial claims and insured unemployment, the bureau noted.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 8.2 percent for the week ending April 4, an increase of 3.1 percentage points from the previous week's unrevised rate, according to the report.
As COVID-19 continues to sweep across the country, most states and local officials have closed non-essential businesses and ordered residents to stay home in a bid to slow the spread of the virus, effectively shutting down a significant part of the economy.
According to the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE)'s semiannual Global Economics Prospects outlook released last week, the U.S. output is expected to shrink by 8.0 percent in 2020, and the unemployment rate will probably peak around 20 percent in the early summer. ■