Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, over 26 million Americans have filed for unemployment.
The increase in unemployed Americans comes from a Department of Labor report posted on April 23rd. The report adds over 4,427,000 claims for unemployment. The report shows an increase of over 1858% from the same time last year.
While the report shows a drop in initial claims since the previous week, the week ending on April 11th added 5 million applications, which shows the continuing trend of fewer people applying each week as people fill the system. Minnesota’s claims went from 93,113 to 74,873 in the same time frame.
The unemployment rate is quickly getting more massive, with roughly 16.2% being out of work to some extent, according to CNN Business. The increase has been so immense that Minnesota government agencies have requested that citizens change the way they apply.
We are currently processing more applications for unemployment benefits than we have ever received before. To ensure our online system can handle the increased activity, we are asking new applicants to apply on an assigned day based on the last digit of your SSN number. pic.twitter.com/6PmB3Wyu1v
— MN DEED (@mndeed) March 29, 2020
Judah Torgerud
Judah Torgerud is a freelance journalist working with Alpha News to keep the people informed and bring the truth to light. Contact him at whqnu@nycunarjfza.pbz.
