U.S. Unemployment Hits 26 Million, Worst Since Great Depression

By Stefan J. Bos, Special Correspondent Worthy News

(Worthy News) – U.S. unemployment is nearing levels of the Great Depression of the 1930s, with one in 6 Americans of working age out of a job as the coronavirus pandemic essentially shut down the economy. About 4.4 million Americans filed for unemployment insurance last week alone, reported the U.S. Labor Department on Thursday.

In all, roughly 26 million people — the population of the ten biggest U.S. cities combined — have now filed for jobless aid in five weeks, the Department explained. Analysts called it the gloomiest situation since the Great Depression when the highest U.S. unemployment peaked at roughly 25 percent.

Thursday’s unemployment figures added fuel to debates over when and how to ease shutdowns of factories and other businesses. “It’s crushing,” warned Jason Thomas, the chief economist at investment services firm AssetMark. “It’s devastating for the economy,” Thomas told the Business Insider publication.

The economic difficulties sparked angry rallies in state capitals by protesters demanding that businesses reopen. U.S. President Donald Trump also expressed impatience over the restrictions in a year that he seeks re-election.

Some state governors began easing up despite warnings from health authorities that it may spark a second wave of infections. In Georgia, gyms, hair salons, and bowling alleys can reopen Friday. Texas has opened its state parks.

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