Another 5.2 million Americans file for unemployment

According to the US Department of Labor, the number of American citizens applying for unemployment benefits for the first time for the week ending April 11 was 5.245 million. The Ministry notes that Americans continue to massively apply for unemployment benefits for the fourth consecutive week.

The previous value was fixed at 6.615 million. Analysts had expected a decrease in the number of applications to 5.1 million.

Over the past month, more than 20 million applications have been filed amid the tough measures to combat the spread of coronavirus. The number of people continuing to receive unemployment benefits for the week ending April 4 increased by 4.53 million to a record 12 million.

Last month, the US economy lost 701 thousand jobs. As a result, in March unemployment jumped from 3.5% to 4.4%, peaking since August 2017. According to forecasts by Morgan Stanley, US unemployment will only continue to grow in the II quarter and will reach a record level of 15.7%.