Jobless claims report Thursday could hit 7 million or higher

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government is set to report another shocking level of unemployment claims Thursday even after nearly 10 million people applied for benefits in the previous two weeks because of business shutdowns from the coronavirus. The number will likely keep increasing, in part because many states are still clearing out backlogs of applications for unemployment aid. And with more companies running through their cash cushions as the virus-related shutdowns persist, they are resorting to layoffs to save money.

As job cuts mount, here are five aspects of the bleakest U.S. job market in memory.

APPLICATIONS FOR UNEMPLOYMENT AID KEEP RISING

Some analysts project that another record will be set by the number of claims filed for the week that ended April 4, which will be reported Thursday at 8:30 am. Jesse Edgerton, an economist at JPMorgan Chase, forecasts that 7 million people sought benefits that week. That would top the previous week's stunning record of 6.6 million.

Up to 50 million jobs are vulnerable to coronavirus-related layoffs, economists say — about one-third of all the jobs in the United States. That figure is based on a calculation of positions that are deemed non-essential by state and federal governments and that cannot be done from home. It's unlikely all those workers will be laid off or file a jobless claim. But it suggests the extraordinary magnitude of unemployment that could result from the pandemic.

Beth Ann Bovino, chief economist at S&P Global Ratings, said she thinks layoffs will send the unemployment rate to 15% next month, with at least 13 million jobs lost. Consider that during the Great Recession, which ended in 2009, unemployment never went above 10%.

“It's unbelievable that I am saying this,” Bovino said. “It's mind-boggling.”

SELF-EMPLOYED ARE AMONG THOSE...