The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

A record 3.3 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits as the coronavirus slams economy

The U.S. unemployment rate has likely risen to 5.5 percent already -- a level not seen since 2015.

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March 26, 2020 at 9:54 a.m. EDT
Pam Massey, 66, is a self-employed hairdresser at at Ultimate Looks hair salon in Gig Harbor, Washington. She has not been able to work since March 13 due to the coronavirus. (Stuart Isett/For The Washington Post)

A record 3.3 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, the Labor Department said Thursday, as restaurants, hotels, barber shops, gyms and more shut down in a nationwide effort to slow the spread of the deadly coronavirus.

Last week saw the biggest jump in new jobless claims in history, surpassing the record of 695,000 set in 1982. Many economists say this is the beginning of a massive spike in unemployment that could result in over 40 million Americans losing their jobs by April.