The number of workers claiming unemployment benefits increased by 3.2 million last week, according to the Labor Department.
Economists had expected 3.1 million new jobless claims.
The number of weekly jobless claims dropped in every state last week except Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, and New Mexico. The territory of Puerto Rico also saw an increase in jobless claims.
Thursday’s number is roughly half of the historic 6.9 million claims made during the week ending March 28, but the number is still extremely high by historical standards. Prior to the coronavirus, the record high for weekly unemployment claims was 695,000 in 1982.
Since mid-March, more than 33 million jobless benefits have been claimed.
Thursday’s jobless claims come on the heels of a new Society for Human Resource Management survey showing that 12% of small-business owners said their businesses could not last another month, and 52% said they would close within six months.
Economists expect the April unemployment number, set to be released at 8:30 on Friday, will jump to an unprecedented 16%, up from 4.4% in March. The Labor Department, charged with calculating the jobless rate, has never recorded such a high percentage since it began charting the monthly unemployment rate in 1948. The highest annual unemployment rate was 24.9% in 1933, during the Great Depression.
