US Jobless Claims Climb
to 30 Million in 6 Weeks The Labor Department
released the tally of the most recent
jobless claims on Thursday. First-time claims for the week
ending on April 25 increased by
more than 3.84 million. This exceeded economists'
expectations, who had predicted
an increase of 3.5 million. Continuing claims have
now reached almost 18 million,
up 2.2 million from the week before. The numbers reflect the
worst unemployment crisis
in U.S. history. Economists are expecting the
4.8 percent gross domestic product (GDP)
contraction of the first quarter to be
much lower once the numbers have been revised. They predict that
second quarter GDP numbers will reflect
the worst decline in the history of the U.S. U.S. deaths caused by
coronavirus now outnumber
U.S. casualties in the Vietnam War. In less than three months,
more than a million people in
the U.S. have contracted the virus.