A record-high number of people applied for unemployment benefits last week as layoffs engulfed the United States in the face of a near-total economic shutdown caused by the coronavirus.

The surge in weekly applications for benefits far exceeded the previous record set in 1982.

Layoffs are sure to accelerate as the U.S. economy sinks into what most economists expect to be deep and painful recession.

The Department of Labor says 93,036 claims were filed in Nevada during the week that ended on March 21st. The prior week, 6,356 Nevadans filed for unemployment - a difference of 86,680. The Nevada Department of Employment, Training & Rehabilitation tells 2 News that a more breakdown will be released on Friday. 

Revenue has collapsed at restaurants, hotels, movie theaters, gyms and airlines. Auto sales are plummeting, and car makers have close factories.

Most such employers face loan payments and other fixed costs, so they're forced to cut jobs to save money.

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending March 14 were in California (+14,221), Washington (+7,624), Nevada (+4,047), Pennsylvania (+3,212), and Massachusetts (+2,737), while the largest decreases were in Arkansas (-461), Alabama (-341), Puerto Rico (-171), West Virginia (-168), and Maine (-81).

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

 

 

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