Labor Dept.: 1.9M more in U.S. have filed for unemployment

Joggers run past a Breguet retail store that's been boarded up on Fifth Avenue in New York City on Tuesday. The coronavirus outbreak and national unrest over the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota have significantly impacted retail business in the United States. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI

June 4 (UPI) — The Labor Department said in its weekly report Thursday another 1.9 million American workers have filed for unemployment.

The new figure pushes the 11-week unemployment total to about 42 million. Last week, the department reported 2.1 million new jobless claims. Thursday’s report revised that figure by an additional 3,000.

Analysts had projected about 1.8 million new claims. The new figure is a decrease of 249,000.

Initial unemployment claims peaked during two consecutive weeks in April, when more than 13 million workers filed for jobless benefits.

Last week’s report showed a sharp decline of continuing claims, indicating that the domestic economy has been rebounding from the historic job losses since the start of the coronavirus health crisis. Economists expected another decline in ongoing claims this week of about 1 million.

Thursday’s report came a day before the department releases its monthly jobs report for May. ADP and Moody’s Analytics reported Wednesday that U.S. companies cut 2.7 million jobs in May, far less than most analysts are predicting in Friday’s federal report.

Another factor in forthcoming job losses may be the national unrest over the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota. Cities nationwide have seen widespread looting and vandalism as part of the outcry, which will likely impact U.S. employment.

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