More Americans than ever before are filing unemployment claims as the nation deals with the growing coronavirus pandemic.
The Labor Department reports this morning that more than six-point-six-million workers filed first-time claims for benefits last week.
That's more than double the three-point-three million claims filed the week before and it's the highest total in the history of the seasonally-adjusted figures.
States with the biggest increases in claims were Pennsylvania, Ohio, Massachusetts, Texas, and California.
The smallest increases were in the Virgin Islands, South Dakota, West Virginia, Vermont, and Wyoming.
181 thousand first time claims were filed in Massachusetts.
The Governor says that as more social distancing is used, businesses have been forced to find different ways to make their operating protocols work.