US new jobless claims stayed sky high this week as coronavirus-related quarantine orders continue to force layoffs. Some 6.6 million people applied for unemployment in the last week alone, bringing the total number of fresh jobless claims to more than 16 million since mid-March. Economists expect the unemployment rate to soar from a 50-year low of 3.5 percent in February to 15 percent or higher in the near term. How does that compare with the jobless rate during the Great Depression or the Great Recession? Have a look.
