BYNIV ELIS-
A report by the U.S. Labor Department today shows that initial unemployment claims for the last week of May dropped to 1.9 million, extending one of the worst unemployment crises in the nation's history.
That very high number represented a continued downward trend in weekly claims from an April peak of 6.9 million, giving some economists hope that the worst part of the coronavirus-sparked crisis is in the rearview mirror.
Labor department officials also said last week's figure of 2.1 million was revised up by 3,000. Until March, the highest weekly level of claims in history was below 700,000.
Additionally, newly released data indicated an additional 623,000 claims of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, a program passed in March's CARES Act that expanded benefits to free lancers the self-employed, and other groups typically not eligible for unemployment insurance.
More: TheHill.com