US jobless total soars to 33million as coronavirus leaves another 3million out of work

The coronavirus outbreak has caused over 33 million Americans to lose their job as another 3 million filed jobless claims over the last week.

Nearly a tenth of the US population has now filed for unemployment benefits as the pandemic tears through the country’s economy, according to data released Thursday by the Department of Labor.

The latest reports come after 20.2 million workers lost their job last month. Businesses with more than 500 employees reportedly laid off 9 million workers, which was the largest category of employer to do so. Companies with less than 50 workers reportedly laid of approximately 6 million workers.

The spike in jobless claims comes after the US reached a 50-year low in unemployment in February of just 3.5%. The unemployment rate is now believed to have reached over 16%, which is the highest since the Great Depression.

On Friday, the federal government will issue the April jobs report, which is likely to be the worst since record-keeping began after World War II.

The soaring jobless claims figures do not fully capture the damage the outbreak has inflicted on the job market. Many people still employed have suffered reduced hours and pay cuts as employers scramble to stay open throughout the public health crisis. Surveys conducted by economists suggest that as many as 12 million workers who were laid off in April did not even file for unemployment benefits by then, either because they were overwhelmed by the state’s system or because they were too discouraged to try.

Meanwhile, the country’s economy continues to backslide. Projections forecast that the country’s gross domestic product – the defining factor for economic -growth – is falling by a shocking 40% i the April-June quarter.

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