6.6 million more Americans file for unemployment benefits

WASHINGTON — More than 6.6 million Americans filed unemployment claims last week as more businesses were forced to lay off and furlough workers because of stay-at-home orders to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

The 6.6 million claims for the week that ended April 4, as reported Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor, is just shy of the number from the week prior.

In Ohio, Department of Labor data from the week ending April 4 reveals a downtick in unemployment numbers. The number of claims decreased 50,106 from the week ending March 28. Total claims recorded that week were 274,288, whereas 224,182 were recorded the week ending April 4.

"In the week ending April 4, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 6,606,000, a decrease of 261,000 from the previous week's revised level," a department news release said. "The previous week's level was revised up by 219,000 from 6,648,000 to 6,867,000."

The 6.87 million claims filed in the week ended March 28, as revised by the Department of Labor, is an all-time high. Last week's unemployment claims mark the second-highest total ever.

Over the past three weeks, more than 14 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits.

California saw the highest number of new claims last week with 925,450. The week prior, 1.06 million Californians filed for unemployment benefits.

Georgia recorded the second-highest number of filings with about 388,175. Michigan was third with 384,844.

— Story courtesy of The Center Square.

This story was originally published April 9, 2020 at 10:44 AM with the headline "6.6 million more Americans file for unemployment benefits."