March 26, 2020 / Sarah Hansen, Forbes Staff
Topline: Weekly jobless claims surged to 3.28 million this week, 3 million more than last week; it’s a sobering indication of just how badly the coronavirus has already impacted the American economy.
- Weekly jobless claims surged to 3.28 million, versus 1.5 million expected, for the week ending March 21.
- This week’s numbers more than quadruple the previous weekly claims record of 695,000 in 1982.
- The hotel industry has lost more than one million jobs since the outbreak began, according to the American Hotel & Lodging Association.
- Last week, weekly unemployment claims surged 33% to 281,000 from 211,000 the week before; this was before layoffs related to the coronavirus outbreak had begun in earnest.
- Unemployment issues were front and center in the Senate last night: the $2 trillion economic relief bill stalled for hours after three Republican senators claimed its unemployment provisions, which would provide some workers $600 a week more in unemployment than their typical hourly wages, would incentivize Americans not to return to work.
- The bill, which passed the Senate late last night and is now headed for the House, would also provide unemployment benefits for those not traditionally eligible, including self-employed workers and independent contractors.
