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5.2 million people filed initial unemployment claims last week, bringing four-week total to 22 million

Posted at 8:31 AM, Apr 16, 2020
and last updated 2020-04-16 08:43:01-04

5.2 million people filed initial unemployment claims in the last week, according to new data from the Department of Labor.

Last week, the Labor Department reported that for the second week in a row, 6.6. million people filed initial claims for unemployment. In the last four weeks, 22 million people have filed unemployment claims.

The coronavirus pandemic has forced thousands of non-essential businesses to lay off millions of workers as social distancing guidelines are implemented to prevent the spread of the disease.

President Donald Trump has promised to release details Thursday about his plan to lift social distancing guidelines and "reopen" the economy in the coming weeks.