Millions more Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week as backlogs continue to be cleared and disruptions from the coronavirus unleash a second wave of layoffs, pointing to another month of staggering job losses in May.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits totalled a seasonally adjusted 2.438 million for the week ended May 16, the Labor Department said today.
Data for the previous week was revised down to show 2.687 million claims filed instead of the previously reported 2.981 million.
Connecticut said last week it had misreported its numbers. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims would total 2.4 million in the latest week.