6.6 Million Filed for Unemployment Last Week

A record 6.6 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, marking a drastic downshift in the U.S. labor market caused by the coronavirus pandemic, CNBC reports.

Bloomberg: “The figure topped all analyst estimates and compared with a median projection of 3.76 million.”

New York Times: “The speed and scale of the job losses is without precedent. Until last month, the worst week for unemployment filings was 695,000 in 1982.”