Record unemployment filings continue

The Missouri Department of Labor reported Thursday there were 27,207 more unemployment claims during the week ending May 23. That is down slightly from the previous week (27,882), but still historically high.

Since mid-March, when shutdowns started in earnest because of coronavirus concerns, Missouri has reported receiving 591,183 unemployment claims.

Roughly 2.1 million people applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week, a sign that companies are still slashing jobs in the face of a deep recession even as more businesses reopen and rehire some laid-off employees. About 41 million people have now applied for aid since the virus outbreak intensified in March, though not all of them are still unemployed.