WASHINGTON (AP) – With a startling 6.6 million people seeking jobless benefits last week, the United States has reached a grim landmark.
Roughly one in 10 workers have lost their jobs in just the past three weeks. The figures collectively constitute the largest and fastest string of job losses in records dating to 1948.
they paint a picture of a job market that is quickly unraveling as businesses have shut down across the country because of the coronavirus outbreak. More than 20 million American may lose jobs this month.
That number represents about one-third of all the jobs in the United States.
This bar graph was tweeted by policy analyst Heidi Shierholz:
LOOK AT THIS. Between March 15th and April 4th, 16.8 million workers applied for unemployment insurance. That is more than one in ten workers. In three weeks. And we are nowhere near the end of this. The labor market has been upended. 1/ pic.twitter.com/MTsjRTs45s
— Heidi Shierholz (@hshierholz) April 9, 2020
