Weekly US jobless claims top 6 mln for first time

The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits last week shot to a record high for a second week in a row – topping 6 million – as more jurisdictions enforced stay-at-home measures to curb the coronavirus pandemic, which economists say has pushed the economy into recession, Reuters reported.

Initial claims for unemployment benefits rose to 6.65 million in the latest week from an unrevised 3.3 million the previous week, the U.S. Labor Department said on Thursday.