U.S. Jobless Rate Soars to Record High as COVID-19 Pandemic Grows

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to take its toll on the U.S. economy.  This morning’s (3-26-20) the U.S. Department of Labor Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claim Report confirmed what many had suspected.  For the week ending March 21st, the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits, known as jobless claims, soared to a seasonally adjusted level of 3.28 million, from an upward revised 282,000 in the prior week. It marks the highest level of seasonally adjusted initial claims on record. The four-week moving average was 997,250, which is an increase of 765,750 from the previous week’s revised average.


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