Initial unemployment claims in Massachusetts hit nearly 148,000 in the week ending March 21 in the first such sign of how many people are left jobless — at least temporarily — because of the coronavirus epidemic and related forced business closures.
Statewide claims were just 7,449 in the prior week, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s report Thursday, and were less than 4,300 for the same week a year ago. This week’s number for Massachusetts had the fourth-highest week-to-week increase nationally behind New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Ohio. Some states, including New York and Washington, were already seeing major increases in unemployment claims as business closures took effect earlier.
Unemployment claims nationally hit an all-time record of 3.3 million for the week ending March 21, far surpassing the previous high of 695,000 in October 1982.
Until the last few weeks, unemployment claims were in the range of 200,000 to 220,000 a week nationally. That rose to 282,000, the highest since September 2017, when the outbreak and related closures began to hit.
“This large increase in unemployment claims was not unexpected, and results from the recognition by Americans across the country that we have had to temporarily halt certain activities in order to defeat the coronavirus,” Eugene Scalia, the U.S. secretary of labor, said in a statement.
The Massachusetts Department of Labor and Workforce Development hasn’t released unemployment numbers since its monthly January rate of 2.8%. While it isn’t clear how the latest unemployment claims will affect the state’s unemployment rate for March, the 148,000 claims made last week represent 4% of the state’s non-farm employment as of January, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard told Bloomberg news he predicts the U.S. unemployment rate may hit 30% in the second quarter.
