| Unemployment in the U.S. is swelling to levels last seen during the Great Depression of the 1930s, with 1 in 6 American workers thrown out of a job by the coronavirus.
More than 4.4 million laid-off workers applied for unemployment benefits last week, the government said Thursday.
In all, roughly 26 million people the population of the 10 biggest U.S. cities combined have now filed for jobless aid in five weeks, an epic collapse that has raised the stakes in the debate over how and when to lift the state-ordered stay-at-home restrictions that have closed factories and other businesses from coast to coast.
In the hardest-hit corner of the U.S., evidence emerged that perhaps more than 2 million New Yorkers have been infected by the virus several times higher than the number confirmed by lab tests.
A small, preliminary statewide survey of around 3,000 people found that 13.9% had antibodies suggesting they had been exposed, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. Just in New York City, with a population of 8.6 million, Health Commissioner Oxiris Barbot said many as 1 million may have been exposed.
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