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The U.S. Department of Labor says last week initial jobless claims spiked to 3.28 million. Here's what that means. According to Investopedia, this is the number of people who asked the government for unemployment benefits because they've lost their jobs in layoffs or business cutbacks. If they meet the requirements for getting help, the government will pay part of their income for a limited amount of time. And initial jobless claims counts those who request these benefits for the first time. The Labor Department's been keeping track of this statistic since 1967.
It's a major indication of how the U.S. economy is doing. And this is the first time that initial jobless claims have ever increased by 3.28 million.
The previous record in 1982 was less than 700,000. So this reflects how quickly the coronavirus pandemic has caused businesses to temporarily shutdown in most American industries. The silver lining is the word temporarily. Yes, economists are expecting millions of job losses in the weeks ahead. But they also expect the economy to get better later this year as the spread of COVID-19 slows down.
And U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says the surge in unemployment claims was recorded before Congress passed an economic stimulus bill which he said would help. Workers on the front lines of this pandemic are being hailed as heroes. We told you how people in several countries are applauding healthcare providers. Now some grocery store employees are being recognized for their risks and hard work.
