New York, N.Y. – New US unemployment claims rose 4.4 million last week according to the Department of Labor’s press release. This brings the total jobs lost in the US economy to 26 million jobs in the last 5 weeks according to NPR. All of the loses are due to the coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China and mandatory shut downs.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate now sits at 11 percent. This is not a perfect picture of true unemployment as it is an adjusted measure. But this does give insight into how far our economy has moved from unemployment well under 4%.
According to the release, this marks the highest level of seasonally adjusted insured unemployment in the history of the seasonally adjusted series. The largest increases in claims across the country came from Colorado (+58,246), New York (+50,250), Missouri (+10,668), Florida (+10,534), and North Carolina (+2,733).
While the claims will continue, hopes are to get portions of the economy open again in the coming weeks. Many states are announcing measures to attempt openings and some have already begun. Recent surveys show the majority of Americans are uneasy with the openings and want to be assured that the measures will keep them safe.
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