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May 8, 2020

U.S. Unemployment Claims Soar to 33.3 Million Amid Pandemic
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Economists are describing the job crisis in the United States as the
worst since the Great Depression. Three point two million people filed
for unemployment last week, bringing the total to over 33 million since
the pandemic began. Many other workers have suffered reduced pay or
hours. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the unemployment rate
hit 14.7% in April, the highest rate since the Great Depression. As
millions of Americans struggle to pay for food, Republican lawmakers are
refusing to back an expansion of the federal Food Stamp Program.
Meanwhile, The Washington Post reports the Small Business Association
has quietly slashed the size of emergency disaster loans it is issuing
to just $150,000. The limit had been $2 million.


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