US weekly unemployment: Claims have hit levels never seen before

3/26/20 8:00PM

Until now there have been few hard data points that reveal anything about the true economic impact of coronavirus. Economists have opined, journalists have guessed, and the stock market has reacted.

Then on Thursday the weekly unemployment claims data from the US was published, revealing that almost 3.3 million people had filed for unemployment benefit.

‍Truly "off the charts"

‍That number of claims is truly unprecedented. It's about 5 times the largest number of claims seen during the worst week of the global financial crisis, which peaked at 665,000 back in early 2009.

‍A number of states even reported their websites were crashing under the strain of people filing, which frighteningly could mean this number was a bit low, as people gave up on crashed sites.

‍What does this mean?

‍It's a confirmation of just how bad, and how quickly, things have changed for the global economy. It adds to the weight of evidence that governments needed to intervene with substantial stimulus packages, which many have now done.

Max Knoblauch17h

American Airlines joins the flock, hiking bag fees amid higher jet fuel prices

American Airlines on Thursday announced that it, too, will be hiking the fees it charges customers to check luggage.

With the move, all four of the major US airlines, which together control about 80% of the US market, have now hiked their baggage fees in recent days amid surging jet fuel prices.

The change will go into effect on tickets bought on or after Thursday, the same day Southwest’s hike begins.

Since late March, JetBlue, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Canada’s WestJet, and Southwest have hiked their fees. Experts expect more major carriers to follow, and to potentially tweak the pricing of other ancillary revenue sources like seat assignments and carry-on luggage.

American Airlines updates bag fees and Basic Economy fares

The change will go into effect on tickets bought on or after Thursday, the same day Southwest’s hike begins.

Max Knoblauch18h

Less than a year after implementing them, Southwest is also hiking its bag fees

Southwest Airlines has joined the growing list of airlines opting to hike their bag fees amid sustained higher jet fuel costs.

Starting today, the first checked bag at the carrier — which implemented bag fees less than a year ago — will jump from $35 to $45, and the second from $45 to $55. Southwest quietly disclosed the change Tuesday.

Southwest assigned the decision to “part of an ongoing analysis of the business and against the evolving global backdrop.”

As of Wednesday, jet fuel prices dropped to $4.16 a gallon, per the Argus US Jet Fuel Index, down from $4.81 on Tuesday following President Trump’s ceasefire announcement, which sent travel stocks soaring. Major airlines have shed some of those gains in premarket trading Thursday.

With the move to hike bag fees, Southwest joins JetBlue, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Canada’s WestJet, all of which also boosted fees this month. Experts expect more major carriers to follow, and to potentially tweak the pricing of other ancillary revenue sources like seat assignments and carry-on luggage.