565 Americans Have Lost Their Job For Every Confirmed COVID-19 Death In The US

In the last week 4.427 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits for the first time.

That brings the four-week total to 26.5 million, which is over 10 times the prior worst five-week period in the last 50-plus years.

Donald Trump suggests injecting disinfectant as Covid-19 treatment

And of course, last week's "initial" claims and this week's "continuing" claims... the highest level of continuing claims ever

Source: Bloomberg

A breakdown of initial claims by state shows that the weekly devastation is easing, with the number of (not seasonally adjusted) claims in New York, California and Michigan declining notably over the past week, while Florida and Connecticut still showing dramatic increases.

And as we noted previously, what is most disturbing is that in the last five weeks, far more Americans have filed for unemployment than jobs gained during the last decade since the end of the Great Recession... (22.13 million gained in a decade, 26.46 million lost in 5 weeks)

Worse still, the final numbers will likely be worsened due to the bailout itself: as a reminder, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, passed on March 27, could contribute to new records being reached in coming weeks as it increases eligibility for jobless claims to self-employed and gig workers, extends the maximum number of weeks that one can receive benefits, and provides an additional $600 per week until July 31. A recent WSJ article noted that this has created incentives for some businesses to temporarily furlough their employees, knowing that they will be covered financially as the economy is shutdown. Meanwhile, those making below $50k will generally be made whole and possibly be better off on...

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