The unemployment numbers are out for last week (i.e., the week ending March 14), and they are up to 281,000, up 33% from the previous week. The Washington Post has the writeup.
Note that the numbers I’ve been tracking are for this this week (i.e., the week ending March 21), and will be released next Thursday morning. The biggest number to come out recently is the one for California, 200,000 in 3 days. The chart below compares the number just for the past 3 days with the average weekly claims during the Great Recession.
Markets are calmer today, with coronavirus health news bad but central banks introducing several new policies. The ECB has a new $1 trillion bond buying program, and the Fed is now extending swap lines to many countries.
