New jobless claims soar to record 6.6M as pandemic ripples through the economy

The past two weeks have been record-breakers in terms of job losses as the virus has infected over 215,000 people in the United States, according to Johns Hopkins University. The previous record high for weekly jobless claims was 695,000 in September of 1982.

Thousands of companies have recently announced layoffs as the coronavirus pandemic is shuttering businesses and causing workers to be sent home faster than anything in living memory. Layoffs have skyrocketed, with nearly half of all U.S. companies expected to announce furloughs. Meanwhile, 37% have begun a hiring freeze as the virus reaches into every nook and cranny of commercial life.

Over the past two weeks, 10 million workers have been separated from their jobs and applied for unemployment benefits, and probably many more have lost work but not signed up for benefits. In other words, about 6% of all payroll workers have lost their jobs, meaning that the unemployment rate is likely already above 10%, as high as it ever was in the Great Recession.

In the best-case scenario, the vast majority of those workers will be able to rejoin their companies when the pandemic restrictions are eased, and the long-term pain from the spike in unemployment will be far less than what accompanied the Great Recession, when millions suffered long-term joblessness.

To alleviate the short-term pressures of unemployment, Congress has authorized relief tax rebates of $1,200 per adult, payable within weeks. It has also boosted unemployment benefits by $600 a week.

To get that benefit, workers must apply though state agencies.

Yet the record high jobless claims have overwhelmed state agencies in recent weeks. The result is that people are unable to sign up and receive payments.