WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 2.4 million people applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week in the latest wave of layoffs from the viral outbreak that triggered widespread business shutdowns two months ago and sent the economy into a deep recession.
An additional 2.2 million people sought aid under a new federal program for self-employed, contractor and gig workers, who are now eligible for jobless aid for the first time, up from 850,000 in the previous week.
Digital publishers Quartz and BuzzFeed, magazine giant Conde Nast and the company that owns the business-focused The Economist magazine also announced job cuts last week.
Last week, the three major U.S. automakers, plus Toyota and Honda, recalled roughly 130,000 of their employees back to factories for the first time since the plants had closed in March.
Data from Kronos, a software company that tracks 3 million hourly workers, shows that shifts worked at its 3,000 client companies are up 16% since the week that ended April 12.
