Coronavirus Leads To Record Job Loss In North Carolina

NORTH CAROLINA — The number of North Carolina residents applying for first-time unemployment benefits was 170,881 for the week ended March 28, up nearly twofold from the prior week's record-breaking number of 94,083. That's an 82 percent increase in jobless claims as the effort to stop the spread of the new coronavirus shuts down many businesses in the state.

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 rapidly because of the new coronavirus, the Associated Press reported.

As of Thursday morning, North Carolina had a total of 1,857 confirmed cases of coronavirus, an increase of 273 cases, which is the largest one-day increase to date. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said there have been seven additional deaths as a result of the pandemic, bringing the state's total to 16 deaths.

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The state's biggest job losses have come in the health care and social assistance, and the administrative and waste management industries, the department's report shows.

The Associated Press reported that economies in the U.S. and abroad have almost certainly sunk into a severe recession.

Last week, the Department of Labor's first report since the coronavirus crisis hit the U.S. showed 3.3 million people had filed for unemployment. That number — which has now doubled — was 400 percent higher than the previous record of 695,000 set in 1982.

It came as states across the nation, including North Carolina, began to tell their citizens to stay at home and closed down restaurants, bars and other places where people congregate.

The AP reported that some of the most recent week's filings were actually people laid off from the previous week, but they were unable to claim unemployment then because offices were so overwhelmed by applicants.

The AP said some economists are forecasting that as many as 20 million jobs could be lost by the end of April.

Adam Nichols, Patch Staff, contributed

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