Apr 20 Florida slowest state in U.S. to process unemployment claims By Bobby Caina Calvan, Associated Press Nearly 7 of every 8 Floridians who managed to file claims during the three weeks from mid-March until early April were waiting to have them processed. Continue reading
Apr 19 Watch 4:55 Decades-old unemployment systems can't handle record demand By Christopher Booker More than 22 million people have filed for unemployment benefits in recent weeks due to the novel coronavirus. And those record numbers are taxing decades-old unemployment systems in states across the U.S., many which use a legacy programming language called… Continue watching
Apr 18 Watch 4:57 How companies are partnering to find the workers they need By PBS NewsHour Millions of people have lost their jobs in the U.S. because of the pandemic. But as restaurants and retailers have closed their doors, other businesses like pharmacies and grocery stores have been ramping up hiring to meet a surge in… Continue watching
Apr 16 Watch 3:42 Stories from Americans struggling with the pandemic's economic fallout The U.S. is experiencing a sudden spike in unemployment not seen since the Great Depression. In about a month, 22 million lost their jobs, with many more cuts yet to come -- and a sense that even these staggering numbers… Continue watching
Apr 16 Watch 4:55 The pandemic has wiped out nearly all job gains since recession -- and it's not done yet U.S. job losses resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic are simply staggering. So far, they are roughly equivalent to the number of jobs created since the last painful recession. Elise Gould, senior economist with the nonprofit Economic Policy Institute, joins Judy… Continue watching
Apr 16 Another 5.2 million seek unemployment benefits, bringing total to almost 22 million in a month By Associated Press Roughly 22 million have sought jobless benefits in the past month — easily the worst stretch of U.S. job losses on record. Continue reading
Apr 15 More states begin to pay additional $600 in unemployment aid By Chris Rugaber, Associated Press At least 32 states will provide the extra federal benefits by the end of this week -- nearly a month after businesses began shutting down across the country because of the coronavirus outbreak. Continue reading
Apr 11 Watch 6:05 Turning to social media for help in the wake of COVID-19 By Sam Weber More than 16 million Americans have applied for unemployment benefits in the last three weeks as the COVID-19 pandemic grinds the economy to a near halt. Even as many wait for the first direct payments from the U.S. government as… Continue watching
Apr 10 Watch 9:35 Congress has allocated $350 billion in small business loans. Why can't owners get them? The economic emergency driven by the coronavirus pandemic is especially brutal for small businesses, many of which experienced an abrupt and complete loss of income. Although federal aid has been allocated to assist them, logistical obstacles to getting the funds… Continue watching
Apr 09 Watch 3:27 After losing their jobs, these Americans face painful choices The latest jobless claims reinforce the sense of an emerging U.S. economic crisis -- one that is likely to worsen in the coming weeks and months. To put the numbers in real-life context, we share stories from workers who have… Continue watching