State & Local Government Policy, Business and Technology

Even as State Economies Reopen, Jobs Continue to Disappear

Governing: A U.S. economy already wounded by the coronavirus bled 2.4 million more jobs last week, continuing a streak of bad news that began in mid-March. Millions of American workers have found themselves suddenly unemployed — an unfamiliar position for most after nearly a decade of record-low unemployment — and facing an uncertain future.

Department of Labor data released Thursday showed 2.4 million people filed unemployment claims for the week ending May 16, a decline of 9.3 percent from the previous week. Those figures included 246,115 in California, where claims rose 15.7 percent week over week, an alarming reversal of a downward trend in job losses. Across the U.S., 38.6 million have sought unemployment benefits since the virus struck, including 4.8 million applications submitted in California.

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