Another 5.2 Million Fill for Unemployment; 4-Week Total Rises to 22 Million

The Labor Department reported a seasonally adjusted 5.245 million people filed initial unemployment claims for the week of ending April 11, marking the fourth consecutive week of multi-million claims and bringing total claims filed in the past four weeks to more than 22 million.

MBA Survey: Share of Mortgage Loans in Forbearance Continues to Climb

The surge in unemployment claims filed since mid-March resulting from the mitigation efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus are straining household budgets and leading to more requests for mortgage forbearance. That is according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s latest Forbearance and Call Volume Survey, which revealed the total number of loans in forbearance jumped from 2.73% to 3.74% during the week of March 30 to April 5.