More than 6.6 million Americans filed for new jobless claims in the week that ended March 28, doubling the record amount seen the previous week, when the COVID-19 crisis was beginning to wallop the U.S. economy. The 3.3 million Americans who had filed for jobless benefits the previous week was already a record, shattering the 692,000 who did so during one week in 1982. For comparison purposes, the worst single week for jobless claims during the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009 came in March 2009, when 665,000 Americans did so. Initial claims are filed by people who are seeking jobless benefits for the first time. If the jobless claims number stays this high through April, the U.S. jobless rate is likely to jump to something around 20 per cent, TD Bank economist Sri Thanabalasingam said.

Source: CBC News April 02, 2020 12:52 UTC