Unemployment claims in Pennsylvania hit 131,000 last week, more than 1.7 million total since March

PITTSBURGH — An estimated 131,282 Pennsylvanians filed for claims of unemployment within the last week, a decrease of nearly 63,000 claims or 32% from the previous week’s revised number of nearly 194,000 claims according to the latest report from the U.S. Department of Labor.

Statewide, more than 1.7 million unemployment claims have been filed since the week ending on March 21, a spike that continues to climb due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Nationally, more than 3.8 million Americans filed for unemployment last week bringing the total to more than 30 million since shutdowns began last month. Additionally, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that U.S. GDP shrank by 4.8% in the first three months of the year according to a preliminary report published Wednesday, the sharpest decline since the 2008 financial crisis.

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