Pennsylvanians filed 650K jobless claims in last 11 days

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvanians filed about 650,000 unemployment compensation claims over the past 11 days as the coronavirus has spread and thousands of businesses closed or laid off employees, according to new information released by the state Thursday.

The single highest day, going back to March 15, was Friday, when more than 90,000 people filed claims.

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That was the day after Gov. Tom Wolf unveiled an order for “non-life-sustaining” businesses to shut down in an effort to help stop the spread of the virus.

In the seven days through Saturday, Pennsylvanians filed about 379,000 claims, smashing the record for an entire week in the state.

In the four days since then, Pennsylvanians have filed another 271,000, putting the state on course to break last week’s record.

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