3.3 Million Americans File for Unemployment
Department of Labor
We ran the numbers: There are 3808 news articles covering this topic. 35% (1330) are left leaning, 40% (1508) center, 25% (970) right leaning.
Last week, nearly 3.3 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits amid the widespread economic shutdown caused by the coronavirus. While left-leaning articles highlight that the scale of the rescue plan is likely too small, right-leaning articles highlight the staggering rise in unemployment claims within the past two weeks.
CNN published a left-leaning article highlighting that the huge scale of the rescue plan that cleared the Senate late Wednesday is not only justified, but likely far too small. The article notes that leaders on all sides are clear that the package acts as a stopgap to get through the next few months and will not revive the economy without another huge cash intervention.
A centrist article by The Associated Press reports that most economists predict that the nation’s unemployment rate could approach 13% by May. The economic deterioration has been swift. In February, the unemployment rate was at a 50-year low of 3.5%.
New York Post published a right-leaning article highlighting that unemployment claims before the week ending March 21 had a revised total of 282,000, which is more than 3 million less than the number for the week ending March 21. New York is the epicenter of the nation’s coronavirus crisis, where more than 1.7 million calls were placed to the state Department of Labor’s unemployment phone line last week.