Nearly 3 million more sought jobless aid last week, 36 million since coronavirus struck
LA TimesA resident copies down the Mississippi unemployment benefit website April 2 after being unable to enter the state WIN Job Center in north Jackson. Nearly 3 million laid-off workers applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week as the viral outbreak led more companies to slash jobs even as most states began to let some businesses reopen under certain restrictions. Roughly 36 million people have now filed for jobless aid in the two months since the coronavirus first forced millions of businesses to close their doors and shrink their workforces, the Labor Department said Thursday. Last week’s pace of new applications for aid was still four times the record high that prevailed before the coronavirus struck hard in March. Data from private firms suggest that some previously laid-off workers have started to return to small businesses in those states, though the number of applications for unemployment benefits remains high.