Nearly 3 Million People filed for unemployment last weeek. Bringing tally to 36.5 million

By: Jeff Cox - CNBC

New filings for unemployment claims totaled just shy of 3 million for the most recent reporting period, a number that while still high declined for the sixth straight week, according to Labor Department figures Thursday.

The total 2.981 million new claims for unemployment insurance filed last week brought the coronavirus crisis total to nearly 36.5 million, by far the biggest loss in U.S. history. The count announced last week count was revised up by 7,000 to 3.176 million, putting the weekly decline at 195,000 between the two most recent reports.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been expecting the latest count of new claims to be 2.7 million.

While the numbers have been declining since the March 28 peak, joblessness remains pervasive through the U.S. even as states continue to come back online slowly following the economic shutdown. 

The Labor Department reported a loss of 20.5 million jobs in April that brought the unemployment rate to 14.7%, both post-World War II highs.

According to the latest figures, those displaced are still not being brought back to work under a freeze that was supposed to last weeks but now has extended for nearly two months.