Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


3.8 Million More Americans File Jobless Claims

Ken Bredemeier

   The ranks of the unemployed keep growing in the U.S., with another 3.8
   million workers claiming jobless compensation last week as the
   coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the world's biggest
   economy, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

   The newest claims boosted the six-week total to 30.3 million, even as a
   few states have started to reopen some businesses and President Donald
   Trump is pushing to jump start the national economy.

   But millions more workers could file for jobless assistance in the next
   few weeks as the full effect of the pandemic takes hold.

   The United States has not seen this level of job losses -- more than
   one out of every six workers -- since the Great Depression in the
   1930s. The scope of the layoffs has wiped out the entirety of U.S. job
   growth since the 2008 recession.

   The government reported Wednesday that the national economy declined
   4.8% in the first quarter this year, with the prospect of a much bigger
   decline in the April-to-June quarter, more than at any point since
   World War II.

   Credit Suisse is predicting a 33.5% decline, with investment banker
   Goldman Sachs slightly higher at 34% with a 15% unemployment rate.

   However, Goldman is predicting a robust 19% gain in the third quarter
   from July through September as the U.S. moves toward a possible
   recovery from the pandemic.

.