| The wave of layoffs that has engulfed the U.S. economy since the coronavirus struck forced 5.2 million more people to seek unemployment benefits last week, the government reported Thursday.
Roughly 22 million have now sought jobless benefits in the past month â easily the worst stretch of U.S. job losses on record. It means that roughly one in seven workers have lost their jobs in that time.
The grim figures point to an economy that is tumbling into what appears to be a calamitous recession, the worst in decades. The nationâs output could shrink by roughly 10.5% before it starts to rebound, according to Ryan Sweet, an economist at Moodyâs Analytics.
That would be more than double the contraction that occurred during the 2008-2009 recession, which was the worst downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
All businesses deemed nonessential have been closed in nearly every state. Deep job losses have been inflicted across nearly every industry. Some economists say the unemployment rate could reach as high as 20% in April, which would be the highest rate since the Depression. By comparison, unemployment never topped 10% during the Great Recession. | 
