“A large part of the economy just collapsed." That's how Ben Herzon described this morning's report on unemployment claims. He's right: 3.3 million Americans filed for jobless benefits last week, blowing away the previous record (695,000 in 1982). To put that number in context, we just wiped out the past year and a half of job gains in a single week. Here's the really scary part: Today's number actually understates the scale of the problem because the flood of applications swamped state unemployment systems, leaving many people unable to file. Next week's numbers could be even worse. The good news is that Congress is now moving quickly to help. The $2 trillion emergency package that the Senate passed last night would include extra assistance for the unemployed. For much more, see my story with Patricia Cohen and Tiffany Hsu in The New York Times . #economy #unemployment #coronavirus …see more