More than 5.2 million people filed first-time unemployment claims in the week ended April 11 as the coronavirus continued to torment the economy, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
The total number of initial jobless claims over four weeks rose to about 22 million, but the most recent weeks’ claims were down from the revised 6.6 million the week before and the 6.8 million prior to that, the department said.
Unemployment hit the hospitality industry especially deep because of state and city closures of dining rooms to slow the spread of the highly contagious coronavirus, forcing many restaurants to rely solely on off-premise sales.
Furloughs and layoffs continued into this week, with such companies as CKE Restaurants, the parent company of quick-service chains Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s, furloughing about 30% of its employees at its headquarters in Franklin, Tenn., and Glendale, Calif.-based Dine Brands Global Inc., parent to Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar and IHOP, furloughing team members at both the corporate and restaurant level.
The Labor Department also said the largest increases in initial claims for the week ended April 4 were in:
- Georgia, up 256,312
- Michigan, up 84,219)
- Arizona, up 43,488
- Texas, up 38,982
- Virginia, up 34,872
The largest declines in initial claims for the week ended April 4 were in:
- California, down 139,511
- Pennsylvania, down 127,037
- Florida, down 58,599
- Ohio, down 48,097
- Massachusetts, down 41,776
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