| Unemployment in the U.S. is swelling to levels last seen during the Great Depression of the 1930s, with 1 in 6 American workers thrown out of a job by the coronavirus.
More than 4.4 million laid-off workers applied for unemployment benefits last week, the government said Thursday.
In all, roughly 26 million people â the population of the 10 biggest U.S. cities combined â have now filed for jobless aid in five weeks, an epic collapse that has raised the stakes in the debate over how and when to lift the state-ordered stay-at-home restrictions that have closed factories and other businesses from coast to coast.
In the hardest-hit corner of the U.S., evidence emerged that perhaps more than 2 million New Yorkers have been infected by the virus â several times higher than the number confirmed by lab tests.
A small, preliminary statewide survey of around 3,000 people found that 13.9% had antibodies suggesting they had been exposed, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. Just in New York City, with a population of 8.6 million, Health Commissioner Oxiris Barbot said many as 1 million may have been exposed.
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