Another 4.4 Million Americans Are Jobless As COVID-19 Continues Its ‘Heartbreaking’ Path Of Destruction

Another 4.4 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week for the first time, bringing to more than 26 million the number who have filed since the coronavirus pandemic began ravaging the U.S. economy five weeks ago, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday.

“With the nation unable to mount the public health response needed to reopen businesses, unemployment benefits are carrying the weight and serving as the last line of defense for millions of struggling families,” Andrew Stettner, senior fellow and an unemployment insurance expert at the Century Foundation, said in an emailed statement.

Some 26 million people have filed for unemployment in the last five weeks, as businesses were forced to temporarily close their doors due to stay-at-home orders enacted across the country. While some states have relaxed the orders, others have extended restrictions, sparking protests.

“Heartbreaking is too kind of a word for the grief the pandemic has caused in lives lost,” Diane Swonk, chief economist at Grant Thornton and adviser to the Federal Reserve, tweeted. “It is foolish to think this wound will heal rapidly. Congress needs to [act] ahead of the next phases of this crisis. They are self evident. They can’t be wished away. Lead don’t leave.

“Hard for employers to call back workers in [the] most social of industries and succeed for any length of time given the ongoing contagion of the virus and need for social distancing. Also, imagine the costs of attempting to open while PPE and disinfectant [are] still scarce,” Swonk added.

The Associated Press reported one in six Americans have now lost their jobs since mid-March, with analysts predicting the unemployment could hit 20%. The April report is due May 8.

“For over a month now, new unemployment claims have served as the most important indicator of the economic destruction affecting the workforce caused by the coronavirus pandemic,” Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst for Bankrate, said in an emailed statement. “Americans’ confidence related to health and financial stability have been dealt unprecedented blows by the outbreak. That damage will not be restored any time soon.”

Unemployment claims did decrease by 810,000 last week, down from more than 5.5 million the week prior, which marked the highest level of unemployment in history.

The highest level of unemployment came from the states of Michigan, Rhode Island, Nevada, Georgia, Washington, New Hampshire, Minnesota, New York, Montana, and Ohio. Increases in unemployment claims spiked in the states of Colorado, New York, Missouri, Florida, and North Carolina while unemployment claims decreased in California, Michigan, New Jersey, Georgia, and Ohio.

“There are now 16 million workers counted as insured unemployment, which is 2.4 times the previous record, meaning that they are eligible for both state benefits and the additional $600 per week, which has now started to flow in most states,” Stettner said.

“While some of these insured workers may ultimately be disqualified, this could translate into as much as $16 billion in aid being delivered to families and the economy in a single week, which is more than half of the $27 billion delivered all of last year. States’ processing of claims appears to be stabilizing, too, with 71 percent of claims submitted since the start of the crisis now registering as insured unemployment.”