KLH49/iStock(WASHINGTON) — An additional 6.6 million Americans filed for unemployment last week, according to data released Thursday by the Labor Department.

Thursday’s figure adds to the some 10 million people that have already applied for unemployment insurance amid the COVID-19 pandemic that has forced thousands of non-essential businesses across the country to close.

Just a few months ago, the unemployment rate in the U.S. was near a 50-year low.

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