A closely watched gauge of layoffs across the U.S. held steady at a historically high level last week, pushing the total during the coronavirus-induced …
A closely watched gauge of layoffs across the U. S. held steady at a historically high level last week, pushing the total during the coronavirus-induced economic crisis to a mind-boggling 51.3 million.
About 1.3 million Americans filed applications for unemployment insurance for the first time, the Labor Department said Thursday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg estimated that 1.25 million people filed initial claims.
The 1.3 million total marks the 15th straight weekly decline after first-time claims peaked at 6.9 million at the end of March, but it’s the smallest drop yet, at just 10,000. That could reflect the spike in coronavirus cases across much of the country, particularly the South and West, and decisions by more than 20 states to pause or reverse the reopening of restaurants, bars, gyms, movie theaters and other outlets. The rollbacks may spark a new wave of layoffs, especially in hard-hit states like Texas, Florida, Arizona and California, and possibly even push the claims totals higher.
“Next week could easily see an increase” in initial claims, economist Ian Shepherdson of Pantheon Macroeconomics wrote in a research note.
Last week, initial claims rose by 62,000 in Florida, nearly doubling the prior week’s total.
Another factor that may be triggering layoffs is that many businesses are exhausting the forgivable federal loans they received as long as they retained or rehired staffers, says Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.
