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41 million in U.S. have lost jobs since virus hit, but layoffs slow

WASHINGTON — 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.

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About 41 million people have now applied for aid since the virus outbreak intensified in March, though not all of them are still unemployed.

The Labor Department’s report Thursday includes a count of all the people now receiving unemployment aid: 21 million. That is a rough measure of the number of unemployed Americans.

The national jobless rate was 14.7% in April, the highest since the Great Depression.