April 2, 2020 / Sarah Hansen, Forbes Staff
Topline: Weekly jobless claims surged to a staggering 6.65 million, more than double the 3.1 million expected, for the week ending March 28 as the coronavirus continues batter the American economy—it’s the highest level ever recorded.
- Weekly jobless claims are a measure of how many people seek temporary unemployment benefits in a given week.
- For the week ending March 21, unemployment claims soared to 3.28 million, versus 1.5 million expected.
- Before the current crisis, the most weekly claims every recorded was 695,000 in 1982. In March 2009, during the height of the financial crisis, claims reached 665,000.
- U.S. private companies cut 27,000 jobs last month, according to ADP’s National Employment Report; this was before the worst of the coronavirus slowdown hit the U.S. economy.
- All of those losses came from small businesses (those with fewer than 50 employees), which cut 90,000 jobs; medium and large businesses added a cumulative total of 63,000 jobs.
