More than 3.1 million people filed new jobless claims last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday, bringing the total to more than 33 million Americans thrown out of work due to the coronavirus crisis.
The weekly claims were down slightly from 3.8 million the previous week.
The April unemployment rate, due out Friday, is expected to approach 20%. In February, the jobless rate was 3.5%.
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• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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