Washington: Claims for government benefits by newly unemployed American workers rose to 1.42 million last week, the Labor Department said, reversing weeks of declines as coronavirus cases skyrocket nationwide.
The increase defied analysts’ expectations of another weekly decrease in new claims, which spiked in March as US businesses shut down to stop the spread of coronavirus put have been dropping since.
Adding to the toll were the 974,999 people in 49 states who applied for benefits under a program for workers who would not normally be eligible – an increase of nearly 20,000 from the week prior.
