US: Astronomical Initial Jobless Claims – BMO

U.S. Initial Jobsless Claims soared to an astronomical 6,648,000 in the week of March 28th, Jennifer Lee, a Seinior Economist at BMO Capital Markets Economics reports.

Key quotes

“The number of Americans filing for unemployment hit a record 6.6 mln in the last week of March, which nearly doubled already high estimates. That's an increase of 3.341 mln from the prior week, the second week in a row of 3 mln-plus gains.”

“Note that this is a seasonally adjusted figure; without that adjustment, claims are at 5.82 mln. Regardless, this is ridiculously and absurdly high.”

“This is a brutal report and sets the tone for how ugly the employment picture is going to be. Double-digit jobless rates are here.”