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May 1, 2020, 2:53 PM GMT
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The Number of People Claiming Unemployment Benefits in the US Exceeded 30 Million

According to the Department of Labor, another 3.84 million people in the US have filed jobless claims during the sixth week of the coronavirus epidemic in the country, thereby raising the total number above 30 million.

Even though the number of newly laid-off persons has been decreasing for the fifth consecutive week, there is no room for optimism. The fallout from the national lockdown and its adverse impact on the economic activity is starting to weigh down on businesses that were initially left unscathed by the situation. This illustrates the worsening of the employment conditions in the US labour market.

US Unemployment Claimants

From an economic standpoint, the situation keeps on deteriorating as it remains to be seen when the US economy would be fully reopened, and consequently, the current distortions faced by the labour market can be mitigated.

Nevertheless, the financial markets seem to have mostly priced in the expectations for further deteriorations of the labour conditions in the states. That is why stocks continued trading moderately higher yesterday, while the yields of the 10-years government bond registered an even more sizable surge.

Stocks vs Bonds Comparison Chart