WASHINGTON
(AP) — Nearly 3.3 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits
last week — almost five times the previous record set in 1982 — amid a
widespread economic shutdown caused by the coronavirus.

The surge
in weekly applications was a stunning reflection of the damage the viral
outbreak is inflicting on the economy. Filings for unemployment aid
generally reflect the pace of layoffs.

Layoffs are sure to accelerate
as the U.S. economy sinks into a recession. Revenue has collapsed at
restaurants, hotels, movie theaters, gyms and airlines. Auto sales are
plummeting, and car makers have closed factories. Most such employers face loan payments and other fixed costs, so they’re cutting jobs to save money.

As
job losses mount, some economists say the nation’s unemployment rate
could approach 13% by May. By comparison, the highest jobless rate
during the Great Recession, which ended in 2009, was 10%.

“What
seemed impossible just two weeks ago is now reality,” said Nancy Vanden
Houten, an economist at Oxford Economics, a consulting firm. “The US
economy will experience the largest economic contraction on record with
the most severe surge in unemployment ever.”

The economic deterioration has been swift.
As recently as February, the unemployment rate was at a 50-year low of
3.5%. And the economy was growing steadily if modestly. Yet by the
April-June quarter of the year, some economists think the economy will
shrink at its steepest annual pace ever — a contraction that could reach
30%.

In its report Thursday,
the Labor Department said 3.283 million people applied for unemployment
benefits last week, up from 282,000 during the previous week. Many
people who have lost jobs in recent weeks, though, have been unable to
file for unemployment aid because state websites and phone systems have
been overwhelmed by a crush of applicants and have frozen up.

That
logjam suggests that Thursday’s report actually understates the
magnitude of job cuts last week. So does the fact that workers who are
not on company payrolls — gig workers, free-lancers, the self-employed —
aren’t currently eligible for unemployment benefits even though in many
cases they’re no longer able to earn money.

Asked about the record-high applications for jobless aid, President Donald Trump said the figures were “fully expected.”

“It’s a lot of jobs, but I think we’ll come back very strong,” he said.

With
layoffs surging, a significant expansion of unemployment benefits was
included in an economic relief bill nearing final approval in Congress.
One provision in the bill would provide an extra $600 a week on top of
the unemployment aid that states provide. Another provision would supply
13 additional weeks of benefits beyond the six months of jobless aid
that most states offer. The new legislation would also extend
unemployment benefits, for the first time, to gig workers and others who
are not on company payrolls.

Separate legislation passed last
week provides up to $1 billion to states to enhance their ability to
process claims. But that money will take time to be disbursed.

In
the United States, the jump in applications for benefits is playing out
in states across the country. In California, claims for unemployment
benefits more than tripled last week to 187,000. In New York, they rose
by a factor of five to 80,334. Nationwide, about 2.25% of the entire
workforce applied for jobless aid last week. In Nevada, the figure was
6.8%, in Rhode Island 7.5%.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said 1 million
claims for unemployment benefits had been filed in California since
March 13. Many of those applications were likely filed this week,
suggesting that next week’s report could show an even larger number of
claims.

In Florida, Jessy Morancy of Hollywood was laid off last
week from her job as a wheelchair attendant and customer service agent
at Fort Lauderdale Airport. Morancy, 29, called the state unemployment
office on Monday to try to file for unemployment benefits but
encountered just a recorded message telling her to call back later.

She
was also concerned that even a full unemployment benefit of $275 a week
would be less than half of what she earned at her job and insufficient
to provide for her children, ages 10 and 7.

“I’m still in a state of shock,” Morancy said.

Even
for those able to file a claim, the benefits will take time to kick in.
It typically takes two to three weeks before applicants receive any
money. State agencies must first contact their former employers to
verify their work and earnings history. Only then can the employee’s
weekly unemployment benefits be calculated.

Worsening the
problem, most state agencies that handle unemployment claims are
operating at historically low funding levels and staffing that are
intended to handle a trickle of claims. Just weeks ago, the job market
was in the strongest shape it had been in decades.

Kim
Boldrini-Sen, 41, has also struggled to file her claim. She has tried in
two states: In Connecticut, where she works as an acupuncturist in a
private practice, and in New York, where she lives and has her own
acupuncture business.

In Connecticut, she thought her application
had been submitted. But when she returned last week to re-file as
applicants are required to do each week, she found there was no record
of her initial filing. After taking an hour to re-file, she received a
pop-up notice that she was ineligible to do so online.

In New
York, the state’s website repeatedly crashed when she was halfway
through filling out her request. When she finally managed to press
submit, she received a pop-up saying she had to file over the phone.
That hasn’t worked well, either.

“I’ve called at all hours of the day,” she said. “That’s been my life for a week, and I still can’t get through to anyone.”

On
Wednesday, the New York State Department of Labor tweeted, “If you have
been unable to get through our phone and/or online system this week,
please keep trying.”

“We are working as hard as we can to ensure
that all benefits are paid and appreciate your patience,” the agency
said on Twitter.

Worldwide, the United Nations estimates that up
to 25 million jobs could be lost in the economic upheaval from the viral
outbreak. That would exceed the 22 million that were lost during the
2008 global financial crisis.

In Europe, companies are laying off
workers at the fastest pace since 2009, according to surveys of business
managers. Official statistics for Europe that would reflect the
outbreak’s impact are not yet out. But companies have been announcing
tens of thousands of job cuts, both permanent and temporary. Major car
companies like Fiat Chrysler and airlines like Lufthansa are suspending
most of their operations, putting tens of thousands of workers on
temporary leave, many with only a partial salary.

The unemployment
rate in the 19 countries that use the euro was 7.3% at last count in
January. It’s expected to rise toward 10%, depending on the duration of
the outbreak, economists say. The rise in joblessness may not be as
sharp as in the U.S. because it’s harder to fire workers in Europe,
where many governments are supporting companies financially to keep
employees on partially paid leave.

Ellen Zentner, an economist at
Morgan Stanley, said in a note to clients that 17 million jobs could be
lost through May — twice the entire 8.7 million jobs that were lost in
the Great Recession. She expects the unemployment rate to average 12.8%
in the April-June quarter, which would be the highest level since the
1930s.

Still, Zentner also expects the economy to start recovering by the second half of the year. But it will take time for things to return to something close to normal, she projects: The unemployment rate could still top 5% at the end of next year.

AP Writers Carlo Piovano in London, David Lieb in Jefferson City, Missouri, and Matthew Barakat in Falls Church, Viriginia, contributed to this report.