Weekly Unemployment Data Released Today
BERMAN: Later this morning, the government will release the weekly unemployment data, the numbers we've seen over the last 10 weeks. They have been unprecedented. Joining me now, CNN chief business correspondent Christine Romans. Romans, what do we expect this morning.</s>CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Maybe another 2 million layoffs or furloughs in the week, John. It has been just a really terrible ten weeks. That would bring you to about 40 million, 40 million layoffs or furloughs over the past two and a half months. Something we have never seen before. Of those people who are being laid off, of course, when they finally get their first jobless benefits check, there's an extra $600 in there. So you have your state benefits plus taxpayers are kicking in $600 a week for people to try to at least bridge this gap here, this time right now of a cratering U.S. economy. That all runs out at the end of July. So maybe another 2 million, 2.1 million layoffs in the week. That would bring the grand total over the past ten weeks to 40 million, John.</s>BERMAN: All right, Christine Romans for us. Keep us posted. In the meantime, Latin America is now the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic with cases there exploding, including a new high in the number of deaths. We have a live report, next.