The US Labor Department has said that unemployment rates rose in all 50 American states and the District of Columbia in April.
The Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Friday that this happened because businesses were closed across the United States in an effort to contain the coronavirus pandemic that has killed at least 95,000 and infected more than 1.58 million people in the US.
According to the data, 43 states set record-high levels of unemployment last month, with the highest being in Nevada, the state with the greatest reliance on the hard-hit food services and hospitality industry.
A total of 38.5 million Americans have filed unemployment claims since mid-March following the coronavirus outbreak in the United States, according to reports.
The Labor Department said Thursday that about 2.4 million Americans filed initial unemployment benefit claims just last week.
The unemployment crisis has sparked protests against lockdowns imposed to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Protesters across the US called on governors to rethink the restrictions as sweeping stay-at-home orders in 42 states have shuttered businesses, disrupted lives and destroyed the economy.