The United States reported 900,000 first time unemployment claims last week, a slight decrease from the previous week but still an extremely high level showing a significant impact of the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
The Department of Labor report showed more than 15 million people receiving unemployment benefits during the week of January 2nd, when federal programs were unavailable due to the impertinence of the Trump Administration. That level was 600% higher than the 2.3 million people who received benefits at the same time last year, just before the pandemic crisis hit the US.