A record-smashing 6,648,000 people filed for unemployment in the week ending March 28 amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday.
The COVID-19 financial crisis has clobbered the U.S. economy, forcing thousands of businesses to shutter amid government-mandated stay-in-place orders.
The service industry, led by accommodation and food services, was among the hardest-hit by the COVID-19 outbreak, according to the DOL data. Other industries that have been heavily impacted include health care/social assistance, manufacturing, retail and construction, the DOL said.
Friday’s staggering figure is an increase of more than 3 million from the previous record — which was just released last week — that showed the first labor impacts of the outbreak in the U.S.
Just a few months ago, prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, the unemployment rate in the U.S. was near a 50-year low.