BREAKING: U.S. Unemployment Claims Top 16 Million in 3 Weeks Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

As the coronavirus nears an expected peak, new unemployment claims numbered in the millions for the third consecutive week, as 6.6 million Americans filed for benefits — the same number as the previous week.

On Thursday morning, the Department of Labor announced that 6.6 million Americans filed for unemployment last week, as the Covid-19 outbreak continues to disrupt the economy. The losses follow 6.6 million claims the week before, and a then-record 3.3 million the week before that.

To make matters worse, CNN’s Christine Romans reported that the numbers could be even higher if states had the capacity to process more claims.

Romans told CNN’s Alisyn Camerota that “the number could have been higher if the states could have processed more of these claims. They’re at maximum capacity. They can’t even process all the people who are losing their jobs this quickly.”

Marketwatch recently reported that unemployment during the coronavirus could approach, if not equal, the estimated 25% peak that the United States reached during the Great Depression.

“If 20 million to 25 million people lost their jobs in the next two months, the unemployment rate could climb to around 16%, some economists estimate, but others think that figure would be too low,” they reported.

We’re now at 16.5 million in three weeks.

Watch the clip above via CNN.