US job Losses Mount as Economic Pain Deepens Worldwide

WASHINGTON (AP) — The ranks of Americans thrown out of work by the coronavirus ballooned Thursday to at least 22 million in just four weeks.

Trump planned to announce new recommendations later in the day to allow states to reopen, despite warnings from business leaders and governors that more testing and protective gear are needed first.

The government said 5.2 million more people applied for unemployment benefits last week, bringing the running total to about 22 million out of a U.S. workforce of roughly 159 million — easily the worst stretch of U.S. job losses on record.

Some economists say the unemployment rate could reach 20% in April, the highest since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

All told, roughly nearly 12 million people are now receiving unemployment checks, roughly matching the peak reached in January 2010, shortly after the Great Recession officially ended.