The number of Americans filing claims for unempoyment benefits surged to a record of more than 3 million last week as strict measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic ground the country to a sudden halt,unleashing a wave of layoffs that likely brought an end to the longest employment boom in US histroy.

Th weekly jobless claims report from the Labor Department on Thursday offered the clearest evidence yet of the coronavirus' devastating impact on the economy,which has forced the Federal Reserve to take extraordinary steps and the US congress to assemble a record 2 trillion dollars stimulus package.

Economists say the economy is already in recession.

Initial claims for unemployment benefits rose 3,001,000 to a seasonally adjusted 3.28 million in the week ending March 21,eclipsing the previous record of 695,000 set in 1982 ,the Labor Department said.

Economists from Reuters had forecast claims whould rise to 1 million ,though estimates were as high as 4 million.

Governors in at least 18 states,accounting for nearly half the country's population,have ordered residents to stay mostly indoors.

According to economists ,a fifth of the workorce is on some form of lockdown.

Economists ,however ,say the rush for benefits in that survey week suggests payrolls declined this month ,which would end nerly 9-1/2 years of job growth.