The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits after so long recording a fall has finally begun to increase. This indicates that the outbreak of the rising Covid-19 epidemic has had a negative impact on the US labor market as some types of operations have been forced to close.
A report released by the Department of Labor today showed that the total number of unemployment claims last week recorded a total reading of 965,000 claims. This reading far exceeds the expectations set by the analysts which is 795,000. Last week's reading rose from the previous week's reading of only 784,000 total claims.
Analysts argue that this increase was driven by re-applications for unemployment benefits as the government provided additional assistance of $ 300 until March 14. This assistance is part of a nearly $ 900 billion approved stimulus package.
Authorities have imposed measures to close restaurants and other businesses to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. Due to that, some jobs had to be reduced for the first time in 8 months.
Although unemployment claims fell from the highest reading of 6.867 million in March, the number recorded remained at a peak reading of 665,000 recorded during the financial crisis 2007-2009. This unemployment claims report gives a picture of the U.S. economic situation
The US dollar index, which measures the greenback against the major, recorded an increase of 0.15% to the 90.472 exchange rate.
