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Record number of Americans file for unemployment benefits

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefit has surged to 6.65 million, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to upend the country's economy.
 
The actual figure is believed to be even higher as many people have reported jammed phone lines and difficulties with filing their claims online.
 
The latest figure eclipses the previous week's record of nearly 3.3 million people.
 
The rush, which is unprecedented in modern US history, has overwhelmed many state offices handling the claims.
 
Some kinds of workers, such as people working part-time, do not qualify for unemployment benefit.
 
Officials in states across the country have closed restaurants, bars, cinemas, hotels and gyms in an effort to slow the spread of the virus.
 
Car firms have halted production and air travel has fallen dramatically. 
 
Economists says a fifth of the US workforce is now on some form of lockdown.


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