US jobless claims soar to above 30 million as more Americans file for unemployment benefits

Unemployment forms are distributed at a drive-through collection point outside a library in Florida. US unemployment is rising at a jarring rate as the effects of Covid-19 take hold. AFP

Millions more Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, sending the six-week total above 30 million since the coronavirus pandemic began to shutter businesses across the country.

Initial jobless claims totalled 3.84 million in the week ended April 25 following 4.44 million in the prior week, according to the country's labour department figures released on Thursday. Economists had projected 3.5 million claims.

Continuing claims, or the total number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits, rose by 2.17 million to a record 18 million in the week ended April 18. That sent the insured unemployment rate – which measures the unemployed receiving benefits as a share of the labour market – to a record 12.4 per cent, compared with 1.2 per cent before the crisis.

Florida had the most claims last week, with an estimated 432,500 on an unadjusted basis, followed by California at 328,000 and Georgia at 264,800. Most states reported declines.