Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
30 Million Have Sought US Unemployment Aid Since Virus Hit
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
April 30, 2020

Share

WASHINGTON — More than 3.8 million laid-off workers applied for unemployment benefits last week as the U.S. economy slid further into a crisis that is becoming the most devastating since the 1930s.

Roughly 30.3 million people have now filed for jobless aid in the six weeks since the coronavirus outbreak began forcing millions of employers to close their doors and slash their workforces. That is more people than live in the New York and Chicago metropolitan areas combined, and it’s by far the worst string of layoffs on record. It adds up to more than one in six American workers.

Roughly 30.3 million people have now filed for jobless aid in the six weeks since the coronavirus outbreak began forcing millions of employers to close their doors and slash their workforces. That is more people than live in the New York and Chicago metropolitan areas combined, and it’s by far the worst string of layoffs on record. It adds up to more than one in six American workers.

With more employers cutting payrolls to save money, economists have forecast that the unemployment rate for April could go as high as 20%. That would be the highest rate since it reached 25% during the Great Depression.

Some outside reviews suggest that the number of job losses is likely even higher than is captured in the weekly unemployment claims. A poll by two academic economists, Alexander Bick and Adam Blandin, found that the U.S. economy may have lost 34 million jobs since mid-March, when the coronavirus shutdowns began.

A key reason for that emerges from a survey by the Economic Policy Institute. It found that up to 12 million more people have lost jobs but haven’t filed a claim for benefits, either because they couldn’t get through their state’s overwhelmed system or they didn’t try, perhaps because it was too difficult.

“These findings imply the official count of unemployment insurance claims likely drastically understates the extent of employment reductions,” wrote Ben Zipperer and Elise Gould, economists at EPI.

This week, the government estimated that the economy shrank at a 4.8% annual rate in the first three months of this year, the sharpest quarterly drop since the 2008 financial crisis. Yet the picture is likely to grow far worse: The economy is expected to contract in the April-June quarter by as much as 40% at an annual rate. No previous quarter has been anywhere near as weak since the government began keeping such records after World War II.

Photo of Jessica Salm
In this, Wednesday, April 29, 2020 photo, Jessica Salm poses for a photo in Plantation, Fla. More than 3.8 million laid-off workers applied for unemployment benefits last week as the U.S. economy slid further into a crisis that is becoming the most devastating since the 1930s. Salm had just started working at a Chili’s when the restaurant closed March 16. It took her six days to file her claim through Florida’s overloaded website. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

States Have Approved the Jobless Benefit Applications of Nearly 18 Million People

As businesses across the country have shut down and laid off tens of millions of workers, the economy has sunk into a near-paralysis in just a few weeks. Factories, hotels, restaurants, department stores, movie theaters and many small businesses are shuttered. Home sales are falling. Households are slashing spending. Consumer confidence is sinking.

On Thursday, the government said consumer spending plummeted 7.5% in March — the worst monthly drop on record. The plunge reflected only the first weeks of the business shutdown; April’s consumer spending report will show an even steeper fall.

With some signs that the viral outbreak may have plateaued at least in certain areas of the country, a few governors have taken tentative steps to begin reopening their economies. But surveys show that a large majority of Americans remain wary of returning to shopping, traveling and other normal economic activity. That suggests that many industries will struggle with diminished revenue for weeks or months to come and might be unable to rehire laid-off workers.

Thursday’s figures also showed that states have approved the jobless benefit applications of nearly 18 million people. This figure is much lower than the total number of people who have sought unemployment aid since the virus struck, in part because it lags behind by one week. Andrew Stettner, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation, estimates that that number translates into 64% of initial applications being approved as of the week ending April 18.

Americans’ confidence in the economy and in their future incomes has plunged, a sentiment that could slow the rebound once more states and cities allow businesses to open. Consumer confidence, as measured by the Conference Board, has plummeted to a six-year low, and its measure of how Americans regard the current economy fell by a record amount.

In the meantime, the jobless are struggling to get by and secure their unemployment benefits.

In Sunrise, Florida, Jessica Salm had just started working at a Chili’s when the restaurant closed March 16. It took her six days to file her claim through Florida’s overloaded website. Her first unemployment check — $494 for two weeks — didn’t arrive until Friday, a month later. Before then, Salm relied on a $225 payment from her union, which she used to pay her phone bill. Her phone is critical: It’s how she applied for unemployment aid.

In the United States and Overseas, Layoffs Are Mounting

Salm, 36, has also received two $600 checks provided by the federal government’s relief package. But the benefits have all been used to pay her mortgage, car payment, car insurance, health insurance and the $1,500 credit card bill that she and her fiancé have built up. Salm hopes to return to work soon. But she fears for her health and isn’t sure what kind of business the restaurant will do.

In the United States and overseas, layoffs are mounting, with the airline industry still shedding jobs. Boeing announced this week that it would cut 10% of its workforce through layoffs, buyouts and attrition. The company has been hammered by the collapse in air travel and troubles with its 737 MAX aircraft.

“I’m not sure how that’s going to work with everyone still fearful,” she said.

In the United States and overseas, layoffs are mounting, with the airline industry still shedding jobs. Boeing announced this week that it would cut 10% of its workforce through layoffs, buyouts and attrition. The company has been hammered by the collapse in air travel and troubles with its 737 MAX aircraft.

Lyft said it’s shedding nearly 1,000 jobs, 17% of its workers, and the ride-hailing company said its senior executives would take pay cuts.

In Europe, joblessness has reached 7.4%, the statistics agency Eurostat reported Thursday. Millions of other European workers are being supported by temporary short-hours programs under which governments pay most of their salaries in return for companies agreeing not to lay people off.

Many laid-off workers in the United States are still struggling to obtain unemployment aid.

Early this month, Norma Ferrufino lost her job as a janitor at an office building in Washington, D.C., after having worked there for nearly 30 years after the building’s owner switched contractors. The new contractor rehired all her co-workers except for her and four other older employees, she said.

Ferrufino has applied for jobless benefits but has so far received only postcards saying her application is pending. She is desperate to return to her old job because there are so few other opportunities available now. Ferrufino, 54, also worries that businesses won’t want to hire her now that she is over 50. She also misses her former co-workers.

“They all hope I can come back,” she said through an interpreter, breaking down in tears. “I’ve known some for 28 years, it makes me so sad.”

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Will California Meet Newsom’s 2035 EV Deadline? It Won’t Even Hit the 2026 Target 

DON'T MISS

Trump Says Putin May Not Want Peace and May Need to Be ‘Dealt With Differently’

DON'T MISS

Is It Bad to Chew Gum All Day?

DON'T MISS

Dollar Doubts Dominate Gathering of Global Economic Leaders

DON'T MISS

US Judge Temporarily Stops West Texas Immigrant Deportations Under Alien Enemies Act

DON'T MISS

Shedeur Sanders’ Long Wait Ends When Browns Take Him in the 5th Round of the NFL Draft

DON'T MISS

Only About Half of Republicans Say Trump Has Focused on the Right Priorities

DON'T MISS

ICE Deports the Mother of an Infant and a 2-Year-Old Who Is a US Citizen

DON'T MISS

Israeli Airstrike Kills 10 People, Half of Them Children

DON'T MISS

Shedeur Sanders Is Still Waiting for a Call as the NFL Draft Enters the Final Day

UP NEXT

Only About Half of Republicans Say Trump Has Focused on the Right Priorities

UP NEXT

Israeli Airstrike Kills 10 People, Half of Them Children

UP NEXT

Shedeur Sanders Is Still Waiting for a Call as the NFL Draft Enters the Final Day

UP NEXT

Israel’s AI Experiments in the War in Gaza Raise Ethical Concerns

UP NEXT

Paul Skenes Strikes Out 9, Wins Duel With Yamamoto in Pirates’ Victory Over Dodgers

UP NEXT

Eovaldi Outlasts Verlander as Rangers Beat Giants

UP NEXT

Rams Take Oregon Tight End Terrance Ferguson in Second Round After Trading Out of First

UP NEXT

The Latest: Francis Is Remembered as a ‘Pope Among the People’ as He Is Laid to Rest

UP NEXT

Trump Now Doubts Putin Wants to End Ukraine War, a Day After Saying a Deal Was Close

UP NEXT

Virginia Giuffre, Voice in Epstein Sex Trafficking Scandal, Dies at 41

Dollar Doubts Dominate Gathering of Global Economic Leaders

18 hours ago

US Judge Temporarily Stops West Texas Immigrant Deportations Under Alien Enemies Act

19 hours ago

Shedeur Sanders’ Long Wait Ends When Browns Take Him in the 5th Round of the NFL Draft

19 hours ago

Only About Half of Republicans Say Trump Has Focused on the Right Priorities

22 hours ago

ICE Deports the Mother of an Infant and a 2-Year-Old Who Is a US Citizen

23 hours ago

Israeli Airstrike Kills 10 People, Half of Them Children

23 hours ago

Shedeur Sanders Is Still Waiting for a Call as the NFL Draft Enters the Final Day

23 hours ago

Israel’s AI Experiments in the War in Gaza Raise Ethical Concerns

23 hours ago

Paul Skenes Strikes Out 9, Wins Duel With Yamamoto in Pirates’ Victory Over Dodgers

23 hours ago

Eovaldi Outlasts Verlander as Rangers Beat Giants

23 hours ago

Will California Meet Newsom’s 2035 EV Deadline? It Won’t Even Hit the 2026 Target 

It was with brash confidence that Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that by 2035, the only new cars and light trucks sold in California would be e...

3 hours ago

3 hours ago

Will California Meet Newsom’s 2035 EV Deadline? It Won’t Even Hit the 2026 Target 

18 hours ago

Trump Says Putin May Not Want Peace and May Need to Be ‘Dealt With Differently’

18 hours ago

Is It Bad to Chew Gum All Day?

18 hours ago

Dollar Doubts Dominate Gathering of Global Economic Leaders

19 hours ago

US Judge Temporarily Stops West Texas Immigrant Deportations Under Alien Enemies Act

19 hours ago

Shedeur Sanders’ Long Wait Ends When Browns Take Him in the 5th Round of the NFL Draft

22 hours ago

Only About Half of Republicans Say Trump Has Focused on the Right Priorities

23 hours ago

ICE Deports the Mother of an Infant and a 2-Year-Old Who Is a US Citizen

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend