The number is actually higher since some on-line problems have occurred that has not allowed some people to get into their states systems…..
The rate could be 5.5 of even more….
This is going to have state’s go thru their budgets even with more money coming from the just pasted Phase III Stimulus bill….
Laid off workers say they waited hours on the phone to apply for help. Websites in several states, including New York and Oregon, crashed because so many people were trying to apply at once.
“The most terrifying part about this is this is likely just the beginning of the layoffs,” said Martha Gimbel, a labor economist at Schmidt Futures.
The nation’s unemployment rate was 3.5 percent in February, a half-century low, but that has likely risen already to 5.5 percent, according to calculations by Gimbel. The nation hasn’t seen that level of unemployment since 2015.
The Senate passed the largest aid package ever Wednesday in an effort to help struggling American workers, businesses and hospitals during this unprecedented economic contraction. The bill includes $1,200 checks for most Americans and additional money for laid off workers.
“We may well be in a recession,” said Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in his first appearance on morning television on NBC’s “Today” show. “The first order of business is to get the virus under control and then resume economic activity.”…