(Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (AP) — An estimated 2.1 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week despite the gradual reopening of businesses around the country, bringing the running total since the coronavirus shutdowns took hold in mid-March to about 41 million, the government said Thursday.
The figures underscored the continuing damage to businesses and livelihoods from the outbreak that has now killed at least 100,000 people in the U.S., more than the number of Americans lost in the Vietnam and Korean wars combined, and more than 33 times the death toll on 9/11.
In this May 7, 2020 file photo, a pedestrian walks by The Framing Gallery, closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in Grosse Pointe, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)
Elsewhere around the world, India saw another record daily jump in coronavirus cases, while Russia reported a steady increase in its caseload, even as the city of Moscow and provinces across the vast country moved to ease restrictions in sync with the Kremlin’s political agenda.
In Russia, President Vladimir Putin announced earlier this week that the country’s postponed Victory Day military parade marking the 75th anniversary of the Nazi defeat in World War II will be held June 24, declaring the nation has passed the peak of the outbreak.
READ MORE: All 50 states partially reopen despite at least 17 seeing rise of coronavirus cases
French unemployment claims jumped 22% in April, as 843,000 more people sought work and the virus lockdown prevented companies from hiring.
