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PBS News Hour

Stories from Americans the pandemic has left unemployed

Wednesday’s huge rise in unemployment claims dwarfs all historical records in the U.S. Although nearly 3.3 million filed, many economists say the number still doesn’t reflect the full scope of people who have been laid off or furloughed or are losing their businesses. We asked Americans to share their stories of the struggles they are facing right now. Here is a sampling of what we heard.

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