Unemployment skyrockets amid coronavirus pandemic
(NBC News) The coronavirus has now claimed more than a thousand American lives, and as hospitals struggle to keep up with the rising tide of patients, a very different statistic is highlighting the economic devastation.
More than 3 million Americans filed for unemployment last week, a record number twice as bad as expected.
Jerome Powell, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, is promising to prop up the economy with unprecedented emergency lending, while at the time predicting a sharp recovery.
“At a certain point we will get the spread of the virus under control, and at that time confidence will return, businesses will open again and people will come to work,” he said, adding “There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with our economy. Quite the contrary.”
Meanwhile, stocks rallied again Thursday after the Senate approved a $2.2 trillion emergency relief package overnight.
The House will vote on the measure Friday.
Read more: https://nbcnews.to/3buQtdy
