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Americans filed more than 5.2 million new unemployment claims last week, the U.S. Department of Labor reported, bringing the total number of claims filed since social distancing began in March to 22 million.
The historic spike of initial unemployment claims is the largest on record, topping roughly 700,000 reported job losses in 1982, according to Vox, which cited expert estimates of a total current jobless rate of 12 to 15 percent, the worst since the Great Depression’s unemployment of 24 percent.
State budgets face severe projected tax revenue shortfalls as businesses shutter and amid the rapid jump in unemployment from record low rates to unprecedented high ones. As a result, public colleges and universities are bracing for deep state budget cuts in coming weeks and months. Some of that slashing already has begun.
The federal CARES Act, the recently enacted $2.2 trillion stimulus, expands the scope of unemployment insurance eligibility to extend to more independent contractors and gig economy workers, Vox reported. And state UI systems are overwhelmed, meaning the reported claims figures likely undercount the actual number of Americans seeking unemployment assistance.
-- Paul Fain