WASHINGTON (AP) – Roughly 2.1 million people applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week, a sign that companies are still slashing jobs in the face of a deep recession even as more businesses reopen and rehire some laid-off employees. About 41 million people have now applied for aid since the virus outbreak intensified in March, though not all of them are still unemployed.

What You Need To Know


  • 2.1 million people applied for unemployment benefits last week

  • About 41 million people have applied for benefits since the pandemic began

  • In California, 212,243 people filed for unemployment last week

  • April's national jobless rate was highest since the Great Depression

The Labor Department's report includes a count of all the people now receiving unemployment aid: 21 million.

That is a rough measure of the number of unemployed Americans.  The national jobless rate was 14.7% in April, the highest since the Great Depression.

The advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims last week was 2,123,000, a decrease of 323,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 8,000 from 2,438,000 to 2,446,000.

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The four-week moving average was 2,608,000, a decrease of 436,000 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 2,000 from 3,042,000 to 3,044,000.

In California, 212,343 people filed for unemployment last week.