Nearly 3.3 Million People Have Lost Their Jobs Because of Coronavirus DMT.NEWS

Nearly 3.3 million people filed first-time claims for unemployment last week, the U.S. Department of Labor said on Thursday, an apocalyptic spike in joblessness caused by the coronavirus.

More than 3,283,000 people filed initial claims last week, a spike of more than 3 million in just one week. It’s by far the largest spike in job loss since numbers began being tracked, according to the Department of Labor; the previous record was 695,000 initial claims in October 1982, according to the New York Times.

While food service and hospitality workers suffered the most as events and vacations were canceled and state and local governments began to tighten restrictions on public gatherings, the DOL notes that other industries hit especially hard include healthcare, entertainment, transportation and warehousing, and manufacturing.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Cover: In this Tuesday, March 24, 2020, photo, Keisha Henry poses for a portrait inside her lounge and catering business in New Orleans. Henry said she lost about $10,000 in revenue last week after three big functions she was slated to cater ended up canceling. Meanwhile, she still has expenses related to launching a bar and lounge six months ago. Henry said she regrettably had to lay off several employees. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

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by Paul Blest, Khareem Sudlow