4.4 Million More Americans br File Jobless Claims The Labor Department br released the numbers on Thursday. The five-week total of those br who have filed claims since the br beginning of the U.S. coronavirus br outbreak now exceeds 26.4 million. The addition of 4.4 million jobless claims is more br than the 4.3 million claims that were expected. The number represents a br loss of all jobs that have been br added since the Great Recession. This means that the next unemployment rate br to be released by the Labor Department br is likely now a staggering 23 percent. The record high unemployment rate set br during the Great Depression was 24.9 percent. Analysts noted that br 810,000 less claims were filed br last week than the week prior.