Want this in your inbox each morning? Sign up here.

Reversal of fortune

The latest weekly count of initial U.S. unemployment claims is set to be released at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. The number of people in America who lost their jobs in the past four weeks is expected to surpass all of the jobs created since mid-2009, the end of the last recession.

Economists think around five million people lost their jobs last week — or at least, that’s how many people were able to file an unemployment claim. (Overloaded systems and unclear guidelines have led to delays for many.)

• From July 2009 to February 2020, the U.S. economy created nearly 22 million jobs. In just the three weeks to April 4, nearly 17 million people lost their jobs.

The April economic shutdown will produce more truly horrific numbers when the month is over. Torsten Slok, Deutsche Bank’s chief economist, expects the U.S. unemployment rate to rise to 17 percent in April, from 4.4 percent in March.