Stunning layoff figures from 11 states show the skyrocketing number of Americans that are losing work due to coronavirus

• The coronavirus pandemic is threatening to plunge the nation into a recession, and signs are emerging significant numbers of Americans are already losing their jobs.
• At least 11 states saw skyrocketing numbers of people filing for unemployment benefits, according to The Washington Post and data rounded up by economist Jacob Robbins.
• In New Jersey, so many people filed for unemployment that it crashed the state’s website.
• Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories. 

The coronavirus pandemic threatens to throw the economy into a tailspin as businesses shutter across the travel and service sectors and put people out of work.

There is increasing evidence that the number of people registering for unemployment benefits is skyrocketing across the country as a result of the pandemic — and putting systems under significant strain.

The figures are starting to come in from states, and it may be just the beginning of a grim portrait emerging in the labor market, The Washington Post reported.

Economist Jacob Robbins also rounded up data illustrating the surge of people seeking unemployment benefits.

Here are the initial wave of unemployment claims that rocked 11 state governments in recent days:

• Pennsylvania: Around 50,000 claims were filed on Monday, and the Tuesday figure surpassed that. That’s compared to 14,000 during the first week of March, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
• Ohio: There were 11,995 unemployment claims on Sunday and 36,645 on Monday — compared to 545 the Sunday before, the Columbus Dispatch reported. The Sunday figure alone is around the average number of claims that Ohio’s labor agency gets in a month. 
• Minnesota: 31,000 people filed for unemployment Monday and Tuesday, per the Minnesota Star Tribune — a rate that’s 10x more compared to the same week last year.
• Connecticut: The state saw 30,000 unemployment claims from Friday to Tuesday, according to the Hartford Courant. On average, there are usually around 3,000 to 3,500 unemployment claims each week.
• New York: 21,000 people called to file for unemployment with the state’s Department of Labor by noon on Tuesday, compared to 2,000 the same day last week, per an agency press release.
• Massachusetts: 19,884 people filed unemployment benefits on Monday alone, compared with 17,382 people for all of February, per WCVB News.
• Rhode Island: 17,779 unemployment claims were filed in the last eight days, compared to 10 just the previous week, per WRPI News.
• New Jersey: 15,000 people sought out unemployment benefits on Monday, which crashed the state’s website, WHYY reported.
• Texas: Around 16,000 people sought unemployment benefits last week, compared to 4,500 only a week ago. It’s a large 40% jump, the Houston Chronicle reported.
• Kentucky: 9,000 people filed for unemployment on Tuesday along, much higher than the 2,000 who usually seek job loss benefits on a given week, per the Lexington Herald-Leader.
• Colorado: 3,900 claims filed on Monday, followed by 6,800 on only Tuesday morning, Denver 7 News reported. Last Monday, the state only had 400 people file for benefits.

The Trump administration is proposing a $1 trillion stimulus package as a lifeline to the battered American economy.

Without further action, unemployment in the US could reach 20% — double the worst figure reached during the Great Recession, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin warned.

Read more: Dan Rasmussen studied every financial crisis back to 1970. He shares exactly where his data says to put your money as markets plunge — and explains why ‘now is a very good buying opportunity’

Other experts are warning of massive job losses. Former Trump administration economist Kevin Hassett told CNN there could be as many as 1 million jobs lost in March.