• More than 3.3 Americans filed for unemployment claims last week according to the Labor Department reporting.  The week before the Covid-19 outbreak in the U.S., only 282,000 unemployment claims were filed.

• The largest stimulus package in American history will provide some help soon to Americans in the form of direct payments.

• Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says that Americans, who already have their bank account information in the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) system, should get their direct payments within three weeks.

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More than 3.3 Americans filed for unemployment claims last week according to the Labor Department reporting.  The week before the Covid-19 outbreak in the U.S., only 282,000 unemployment claims were filed.

Federal, state, and local governments across the country have forced the closure of businesses and ordered Americans to stay in place.  Therefore, soaring jobless claims were expected.

The unemployment claims confirm what many experts have been saying for the two months or so. This is an unprecedented time; the coronavirus crisis is worse than the 2008 Financial Crisis.  Even in the worst week of the Great Recession, the unemployment claims never topped 665,000. The world worried then about another Great Depression.

Help Is on the Way

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said to Americans that “help is on the way” after the Senate passes a $2 trillion economic relief package to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.

The largest stimulus package in American history will provide some help soon to Americans in the form of direct payments.

According to general information, the package will allocate $250 billion for direct cash to individuals and families. Direct cash payments will be up to $1,200 for individuals, $2,400 for married couples, and $500 per child, reduced if an individual makes more than $75,000 or a couple makes more than $150,000.

The last employment reporting is the first one amid the Covid-19 crisis.  Companies across the country continue to lay off employees.  The stimulus package allocates more than $900 billion to help multi-national, and small businesses keep employees on their payroll. However, it is not clear when they will start getting the funds they need.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says that Americans, who already have their bank account information in the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) system, should get their direct payments within three weeks.

Businesses need their relief as fast as individuals, but the Secretary did not say how long they will have to wait before they can the help they need. In the meantime, higher unemployment claims might be inevitable.