According to new data released by the Department of Labor, another 3.8 million people filed for unemployment last week, bringing the total number of unemployed Americans to 30.4 million, or 12.4 percent. It makes the highest level of the seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate in the history of the seasonally adjusted series, and is a staggering example of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the U.S. economy.

The largest increases in unemployment claims for the week ending April 18 were in Florida (326,251), Connecticut (68,758), West Virginia (31,811), Louisiana (12,270) and Texas (6,504). The largest decreases were in New York (189,517), California (127,112) Michigan (85,500), Georgia (72,578), and Washington (60,980).