The Labor Department said Thursday unemployment benefit claims soared to 3.28 million last week, a record. That number blew past the Great Recession peak of 695,000.
The move came as the Senate unanimously approved a $2 trillion economic relief package late Wednesday, which aims to cushion the blow from the coronavirus outbreak. The stimulus bill now heads to the House, which will push to pass it by voice vote Friday morning as most representatives are out of Washington. The Dow was up more than 13% in two days for its first back-to-back gain since February in anticipation of the stimulus.
