Coronavirus-triggered layoffs in US hit nearly 39 million

CHRISTOPHER RUGABER and DANICA KIRKA Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits in the two months since the coronavirus took hold in the U.S. has swelled to nearly 39 million, the government reported Thursday, even as states from coast to coast gradually reopen their economies and let people go back to work. More than 2.4 million people filed for jobless aid last week in the latest wave of layoffs from the outbreak that has triggered nationwide business shutdowns and brought the economy to its knees, the Labor Department said. That brings the running total to a staggering 38.6 million, a job-market collapse unprecedented in its speed. The number of weekly applications has slowed for seven straight weeks. Yet the figures remain brea