Week sees 3M more jobless claims

State reports decrease in number of filings

WASHINGTON — Nearly 3 million laid-off workers applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week as the viral outbreak led more companies to slash jobs though most states have begun to let some businesses reopen under certain restrictions.

Roughly 36 million people have filed for jobless aid in the two months since the coronavirus first forced millions of businesses to close their doors and shrink their workforces, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Nevada reported a slight decrease in the number of weekly claims for the week ending May 9. The unemployment office saw 24,045 initial claims compared with 28,550 claims the previous week.

The number of first-time applications has declined for six straight weeks, suggesting that a dwindling number of companies are reducing their payrolls.

By historical standards, though, the latest tally shows that the number of weekly jobless claims remains enormous, reflecting an economy that is sinking into a severe downturn. Last week’s pace of new applications for aid is still four times the record high that prevailed before the coronavirus struck hard in March.

Jobless workers in some states are still reporting difficulty applying for or receiving benefits. They include

freelance, gig and self-employed workers, who became newly eligible for jobless aid this year.

The states that are easing lockdowns are doing so in varied ways. Ohio has permitted warehouses, most offices, factories and construction companies to reopen, but restaurants and bars remain closed

for indoor sit-down service.

A handful of states have gone further, including Georgia, which has opened barbershops, bowling alleys, tattoo parlors and gyms. South Carolina has reopened beach hotels, and Texas has reopened shopping malls.

Data from private firms suggest that some previously laid-off workers have started to return to small businesses in those states, but the number of applications for unemployment

benefits remains high.

The latest jobless claims follow a devastating jobs report last week. The government said the unemployment rate soared to 14.7 percent in April, the highest rate since the Great Depression, and employers shed 20.5 million jobs. A decade’s worth of job growth was wiped out in a single month.

Review-journal staff writer Subrina Hudson contributed to this report.