Millions more Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week as backlogs continue to be cleared and disruptions from the coronavirus unleash a second wave of layoffs, pointing to another month of staggering job losses in May.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits totalled a seasonally adjusted 2.438 million for the week ended May 16, the Labor Department said today.
Data for the previous week was revised down to show 2.687 million claims filed instead of the previously reported 2.981 million. Connecticut said last week it had misreported its numbers.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims would total 2.4 million in the latest week.
The jobless claims report, the most timely data on the economy's health, could offer early clues on how quickly businesses rehire workers as they reopen and on the success of the government's Paycheck Protection Programme (PPP).
A broad shutdown of the country in the middle of March to contain the spread of Covid-19 has resulted in the worst unemployment since the Great Depression.
But claims have been gradually declining since hitting a record 6.867 million in the week ended March 28.
Economists said claims numbers were staying high also as states were now processing applications for gig workers and many others trying to access federal government benefits.
These workers generally do not qualify for regular unemployment insurance, but to get federal aid for coronavirus-related job and income losses they must first file for state benefits and be denied.
Last week's claims data covered the week during which the government surveyed establishments for the non farm payrolls portion of May's employment report. The economy lost a record 20.5 million jobs in April, on top of the 881,000 shed in March.
