Record unemployment as virus threatens US workers

More than 6.6 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week - doubling a record high set just one week earlier - a sign that layoffs are accelerating in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak.

Jane Lincoln, 24 of Brooklyn, N.Y., was furloughed two weeks ago from two part-time jobs_ one as a barista for a coffee shop and another as a coat checker at a night club.

"I'm worried about so many things right now," Lincoln said, "I don't really have a steady source of income right now."

Lincoln says she used to pull in $1,500 monthly after taxes of which $950 went toward her monthly rent. Right now, she is giving music lessons via Facetime which she hopes will help her to stay afloat for a while.

Combined with last week's report that 3.3 million people sought unemployment aid two weeks ago, the U.S. economy has now suffered nearly 10 million layoffs in just the past few weeks - far exceeding the figure for any corresponding period on record.

Dan Phelan learned on March 24 that he had tested positive for COVID-19 and exactly one week later learned he had lost his job.

"A lot of the restaurants we worked with started to close," Phelan said "a lot of the wineries we worked with started to close due to government mandates."

Phelan, 24, who lives in New York City, said he received an email from the human resources department of the public relations firm where he worked informing him that he was being laid off because of the coronavirus pandemic.

"They let me know that the ultimate goal is to have everyone that was laid off come back at a later date, but they're not able to give a specific date or time that could potentially happen," Phelan said.

Phelan had only worked at the company since November and is viewing the layoff as a "permanent."

Both Lincoln and Phelan are filing for unemployment benefits. Phelan, who is getting paid by his former employer unil next week says the system is being overloaded due to the shear volume of applicants.

The stunning report Thursday from the Labor Department showed that job cuts are mounting against the backdrop of economies in the United States and abroad that have almost certainly sunk into a severe recession as businesses have shut down across the world.