Virus-hit Spain's jobless rate jumps to 14.4 percent

15:38, April 28, 2020

• 

  26 million have sought US jobless aid since virus hit

  Visitors to the Department of Labor are turned away at the door by personnel due to closures over coronavirus concerns, Wednesday, March 18, 2020, in New York. (Photo: AP)More than 4.4 million laid-off workers applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week as job cuts escalated across an economy that remains all but shut down, thegovernment said Thursday.Roughly 26 million people have now filed for jobless aid in the five weeks since the coronavirus outbreak began forcing millions of employers to close their doors. About one in six American workers have lost their jobs in the past five weeks, by far the worst string of layoffs on record. Economists have forecast that the unemployment rate for April could go as high as 20%.The enormous magnitude of job cuts has plunged the U.S. economy into the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Some economists say the nation’s output could shrink by twice the amount that it did during the Great Recession, which ended in 2009.The painful economic consequences of the virus-related shutdowns have sparked angry protests in several state capitals from crowds insisting that businesses be allowed to reopen. Thursday’s report, showing that the pace of layoffs remains immense, could heighten demands for re-openings.Some governors have begun easing restrictions despite warnings from health authorities that it may be too soon to do so without causing new infections. In Georgia, gyms, hair salons and bowling alleys can reopen Friday. Texas has reopened its state parks.Yet those scattered re-openings won’t lead to much rehiring, especially if Americans are too wary to leave their homes. Most people saythey favor stay-at-home orders, according to a survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs and believe it won’t be safe to lift social distancing guidelines anytime soon. And there are likely more layoffs to come from many small businesses that have tried but failed to receive loans from a...

• 

  US stocks open higher despite jump in jobless claims

  A masked worker at this state WIN job center in Pearl, Miss., holds an unemployment benefit application form as she waits for a client, Tuesday, April 21, 2020. (Photo: AP)Wall Street stocks opened higher Thursday despite another dreadful round of economic data in the wake of coronavirus shutdowns, including the latest spike in US unemployment claims.About an hour into the trading session the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at23,754.76, a gain of 1.1 percent.The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 1.0 percent to 2,829.31, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 1.2 percent to 8,599.05.Job losses from the coronavirus pandemic deepened last week with data showing another 4.4 million US workers filed new claims for jobless benefits, bringing the total to 26.4 million since mid-March.The latest devastating US report came after eurozone data showing an "unprecedented" collapse in activity, according to analysis firm IHS Markit.After falling sharply in March in anticipation of recession, US stocks have mostly risen in April as investors have largely shrugged off poor data amid debates over how quickly the economy will rebound and the effect of unprecedented stimulus measures on real activity and financial markets.

• 

  European stocks jump at open on virus treatment hope

  File photo: CGTNEuropes major equity indices rallied at the open on Thursday, as global investor sentiment was boosted by news of a possible breakthrough in testing for a coronavirus treatment.Londons benchmark FTSE 100 index advanced 0.6 percent to 6,149.95 points, Frankfurts DAX won 1.1 percent 11,228.98 and the Paris CAC 40 added 1.0 percent to 4,717.08, compared with the closing levels on Wednesday.