4.4 million file in US for jobless benefits

About 4.4 million workers filed claims for jobless benefits for the week ended April 18, the US Labor Department reported Thursday.

That's down from 5.2 million claims filed a week ended April 11.

About 26 million people have filed unemployment claims since mid-March when the coronavirus pandemic led states to issue stay-at-home orders to limit spread of the disease and the economy shut down.

Economists are divided on what's ahead. Some believe unemployment claims peaked in late March when about 7 million workers filed in one week. But others look for an increase in coming weeks as workers unable to file because state systems were backlogged join those who recently lost their jobs.

In addition, the recently passed Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES) extends benefits to people who were previously ineligible, including independent contractors and the self-employed.

The market opened tepidly Thursday, but climbed.

In early trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 195.07 points, or 0.83 percent to 23,670.85. The S&P 500 rose 1.00 percent. The Nasdaq Composite gained 1.05 percent.

The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil, the gauge for US prices, rose 19.74 percent to $16.50 a barrel. Brent crude, the worldwide benchmark, rose 9.23 percent to $22.24 a barrel.

Oil is a proxy for future economic activity. Earlier, US oil prices fell to zero as demand collapsed and supply increased. The recent rally in West Texas Intermediate crude suggests traders are betting production cuts will better align supply with demand, ending the supply glut and supporting higher prices.

Meanwhile, state and local governments warn of extensive layoffs unless they receive federal aid.

The $2.2 trillion CARES act President Donald Trump signed into law last month included $150 billion for state and local governments hit by the coronavirus outbreak. But cities and states said it wasn't enough.

Democrats wanted to include another $150 billion in the latest aid package, but Republicans argued successfully to limit the scope of the bill to small businesses and hospitals. The House is scheduled to vote on the $484 billion measure today and Trump is expected to sign it into law.

States warn they could face a $500 billion budget gap in the next two years without additional federal aid. A bill providing such aid may be forthcoming.

"We had a tranche for them in the first bill, the $2.2 trillion bill," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, told reporters on Capitol Hill. "It has to be coronavirus-related. And I think we need to have a full debate no only about if we do state and local (aid), how will they spend it."

The budget crunch has begun in some cities.

Los Angeles plans to require city workers to take 26 days unpaid leave to close a projected $600 million drop in revenue. Detroit seeks to lay off 200 workers and furlough thousands more as tax revenue falls in the economic slowdown.