Unemployment now above 15% from the lowest in 50 years.
Via Marketwatch:
The flood of Americans seeking unemployment benefits after losing their jobs in the coronavirus pandemic is slowing, but another several million Americans probably filed jobless claims to bump to total to almost 30 million in the latest week.
Initial jobless claims likely rose about 3.5 million in the week running from April 19 to April 25, according to economists polled by MarketWatch. That would be half as many as during the pandemic peak, but still shockingly high. Just a few months ago, claims were running in the low 200,000s and stood at a 50-year low. The Labor Department is due to publish the latest data on Thursday.
“While the number of initial jobless claims has started to recede from unprecedented levels, initial claims are likely to remain elevated for some time,” said Sam Bullard, senior economist at Wells Fargo.