3.2 million more Americans have filed claims for unemployment benefits amid widespread COVID-19 closures, per the latest Department of Labor update Thursday.
The 3.2 million additional claims for last week brings the total to an estimated 33.5 million since the COVID-19 era truly began. Put another way, that's roughly the equivalent of one in five Americans who had previously been employed as of February of this year. Back in March, claims hit a peak of nearly 6.9 million.
Areas that saw regional rises in claims for the latest weekly update on unemployment stats include Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Puerto Rico.
And as made clear by the Associated Press and others, these numbers— already dire enough as is — don’t show the full picture. Many around the country, for example, have had their hours significantly cut, while others have been forced to endure to slices to their wages.
Meanwhile, multiple states have started moving toward a so-called "reopening." On Thursday, it was reported that the Trump administration had shelved the CDC's reopening advice document titled Guidance for Implementing the Opening Up America Again Framework, which outlined what the agency believes is the best path forward.
