WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Millions more Americans filed claims for unemployment benefits last week, suggesting that layoffs were spreading to industries that were not initially directly impacted by business closures and disruptions related to the coronavirus.
Other data on Thursday showed a record collapse in consumer spending in March as the economy reels from nationwide lockdowns to slow the spread of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the virus. The reports came on the heels of news on Wednesday that the economy suffered its sharpest contraction since the Great Recession in the first quarter, ending the longest expansion in the United States’ history.
“The economy continues to print numbers that scare the living daylights out of everyone in the world,” said Chris Rupkey, chief economist at MUFG in New York.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits totaled a seasonally adjusted 3.839 million for the week ended April 25, the Labor Department said. While that was down from 4.442 million in the prior week and marked the fourth straight weekly decline in applications, the numbers are still at levels unimaginable just months ago. Economists polled by Reuters had expected 3.50 million claims in the latest week.
Applications for jobless benefits hit a record 6.867 million in the week ended March 28. Last week’s filings lifted the number of people who sought unemployment benefits to 30.307 million since March 21, roughly 18.6% of the working age population.
U.S. stocks were trading lower on the claims report. The dollar was little changed against a basket of currencies, while U.S. Treasury prices