"This reversal of economic fortune has caused a level of pain that is hard to capture in words," said Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
"If the current rate of decline continues, claims will dip below 1M in the second or—more likely—third week of June," said economist Ian Shepherdson.
Investors think that, even though the unemployment numbers look bad, the US economy has hit bottom already and will get better from here
Hassett also expects the US unemployment rate, due to be published next month to soar to 16-17%. By comparison, US unemployment was 4.4% in March.
There is "probably no single metric you can look at" to better get a broad sense of how the economy is doing than unemployment, said Jason Thomas.
New research from the anonymous social media network Blind shows job concerns among employees at tech companies jumped 33% in a month.
The surge in claims "should push the unemployment rate up to 17% in the April data, a new post-World War II high," wrote Brett Ryan of Deutsche Bank.
In a new Insider poll, 72% of Americans said they are experiencing some level of financial hardship due to the coronavirus.
"My hope is that we get back to business as usual as quickly as possible," said former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.
Nearly 17 million jobs could be lost in the second quarter, pushing unemployment to 13%, according to Morgan Stanley's chief economist.
"It is a huge shock and we are trying to cope with it and keep it under control," St. Louis Fed chief James Bullard told Bloomberg.
Trump touts his handling of the economy as the strongest indicator of his success, but a closer look reveals a mixed picture.
Saudi Arabia plans to bar foreign workers from certain jobs in an effort to reduce unemployment and the potential for social strife that come with it.
Americans watch stocks surge and unemployment drop but they still don't feel great about the future because those numbers don't tell the whole story.