MA Coronavirus: 80,000 New Unemployment Claims In Latest Report

BOSTON — The number of Massachusetts residents applying for first-time unemployment benefits during the week that ended April 18 was 80,345, according to Thursday's U.S. Department of Labor report.

It was the fifth weekly labor report since companies began laying off and furloughing workers in response to the economic downturn caused by the new coronavirus pandemic. Since the report for the week ended March 21, Massachusetts has seen 689,088 workers file for first-time unemployment benefits.

Nationally, the number of people filing for unemployment fell to 4.43 million in the week ending April 18, compared to 5.25 million the previous week. Before the unprecedented unemployment claims started in March, the worst week for national unemployment claims was 695,000 in 1982.

The biggest weekly claims number in Massachusetts during the Great Recession came in December 2008, when 22,028 people filed for unemployment during a single week. In 2008, however, layoffs came in waves over the course of several months.

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A Pioneer Institute report released Monday and based on prior week's unemployment data showed that workers in the retail, hospitality, health care and construction were the "most vulnerable" for job losses in the ongoing economic meltdown. People working in food and accommodations accounted for 32 percent of the 313,919 job losses the study looked at.

"Many of our state’s blue-collar workers are being hit the hardest by the government’s economic policies associated with social distancing," said Paul D. Craney, spokesperson for the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance. "They cannot Zoom into their workday. Working from home means they are out of work ... Many of these blue-collar workers work paycheck to paycheck to make ends meet."

More Coronavirus Coverage On Massachusetts Patch:

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• Massachusetts Coronavirus Deaths Eclipse Flu, Diabetes Deaths
• When Will MA Relax Coronavirus Social Distancing Measures?

Dave Copeland writes for Patch and can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).