US Jobless Claims: Above expectations but below last week – BMO

The number of Americans filing for UI for the first time slipped for the third week in a row but the numbers are still terrible, Jennifer Lee from the Royal Bank of Montreal reports.

Key quotes

“Although polls show that the overwhelming majority of Americans support staying at home and are against re-opening too soon, the pressure on governors to do so is high, particularly when they look at the weekly unemployment numbers.”

“For the week of April 18, initial claims came in at 4,427k, down 810k from the prior week. Still, that is an astonishing 26,453k over the past five weeks! Over 26 million Americans filed for UI this month!”

“Brace for April's payroll report to be uglier than March's, with the jobless rate poised to hit a record high.”