The latest report released by the Labor Department showed there are another 2.12 million people who filed for unemployment benefits in the past week. Although the number is high, it’s lower than last week's 2.4 million. The unemployment rate rose to 14.7% last month, and it is expected to further increase in May.
The insured unemployment rate also dropped to 14.5% from last week's 17.1%.
Overall, since the pandemic started, more than 40 million are without a job; money-wise, the pandemic put on hold more than $21.5 trillion.
Alongside the Unemployment Claims, another report became public. The second report showed that in the first quarter of 2020, the American GDP shrunk by 5%. The US can enter recession territory starting the second quarter if Atlanta's Fed GDP prevision happens – a 41.9% drop. The majority of analysts believe that the economy will rebound in the second half of the year once the restrictions lift.
The American benchmarks barely reacted, as they seem to be immune to negative data. USA30 is up 0.23%, while USA500 added 0.20%. TECH100 is on the red territory, trading around 0.15%.
Sources: marketwatch.com, forexfactory.com,cnbc.com
