22 million Americans have lost their jobs in just four weeks

Has the job-loss trend peaked in the United States?

The Department of Labor released its latest initial jobless claims and reported a reading of 5.245 million. This is down from the previous week’s 6.615 million, but it does come in higher than the median estimate of 5.105 million.

Continuing jobless claims fell just short of 12 million, up from last week’s 7.446 million.

The jobless claims four-week average, which eliminates the week-to-week volatility, topped 5.508 million, up from 4.267 million a week ago.

Overall, about 22 million Americans have lost their jobs in just four weeks.

The April unemployment rate is still expected to hit double digits since the entire country is under lockdown and most businesses have shut their doors. The gross domestic product (GDP) is also projected to contract double digits in the first and second quarters.

The stock market is doing well, though!