1.48 million Americans filed jobless claims last week, according to the Labor Department. That's about the same as the week prior. The slow fall in claims over the past three months is dashing hopes of a quick recovery.
The recent surge in COVID-19 cases across the U.S. doesn’t help. In fact, some businesses are already adjusting reopening plans for the summer. On Wednesday, Apple announced it will shut more store locations in Houston. Not long after that, Disney said it will postpone the reopening of at least one theme park in California.
The potential retail and consumer setbacks sent the market into a tailspin, with the Dow Jones plunging 700 points. The S&P 500 fell 2.6% and the Nasdaq dropped 2.2% — showing the market could hit a wall as COVID-19 surges again.
