Job losses from the coronavirus pandemic in the United States climbed to 26.4 million, as Congress was poised to approve a new stimulus measure and governors in some states move to slowly reopen businesses.
Sobering data released by the Labor Department showed 4.4 million US workers filed new claims for jobless benefits in the week that ended 18 April, underscoring the damage done to the world's largest economy by the crisis.
The figure represents a drop from recent weeks, but the weekly totals are many times higher than any recorded during the global financial crisis, as virus lockdown measures force businesses to close nationwide.