FXStreet reports that Jennifer Lee, a Senior Economist at BMO Capital Markets Economics, notes that U.S. Initial Jobless Claims soared to an astronomical 6,648,000 in the week of March 28th.

“The number of Americans filing for unemployment hit a record 6.6 mln in the last week of March, which nearly doubled already high estimates. That's an increase of 3.341 mln from the prior week, the second week in a row of 3 mln-plus gains.”

“Note that this is a seasonally adjusted figure; without that adjustment, claims are at 5.82 mln. Regardless, this is ridiculously and absurdly high.”

“This is a brutal report and sets the tone for how ugly the employment picture is going to be. Double-digit jobless rates are here.”