Antonio Fins @PBPoliticsFins Apr 9, 2020 at 9:48 AM The one-week state and national one-week totals spoke to the depth of the economic pain Americans are enduring amid broad shutdown of business and social life in a desperate attempt to the flatten the curve of infections. * TO OUR READERS: This content is being provided for free as a public service to our readers during the coronavirus outbreak. Please support local journalism by subscribing to The Palm Beach Post. If you want breaking coronavirus news directly in your inbox, sign up for our Coronavirus Newsletter. * Jobless Floridians filed close to 170,000 unemployment claims last week as the number of Americans seeking assistance amid the coronavirus topped 6 million. The one-week state and national one-week totals spoke to the depth of the economic pain Americans are enduring amid broad shutdown of business and social life in a desperate attempt to the flatten the curve of infections. >>Unemployment forms available at Palm Beach County libraries Since March 25, nearly 17 million people in America have filed for unemployment benefits. “In just three weeks, COVID-19 has triggered a jobs crisis that is truly unthinkable in its scale and scope, stretching from coast-to-coast and impacting service jobs that once seemed immune to economic ups and downs,” said Andrew Stettner, senior fellow at The Century Foundation. The crisis in household income has been aggravated by significant delays and frustration with the process to apply for unemployment benefits. >>More money coming as businesses scramble to tap banks for loans The state’s filing website crashed weeks ago, forcing officials and applicants to turn to paper applications. On Wednesday, the state rolled out another site at floridajobs.org/raapplication. A federal program to provide small businesses with loans and assistance also got off to a rough start as […]
