Unemployment in the US has reached alarming levels. Nearly 2 million Americans filed their claims after the government shutdown

According to Reuters, the number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits has risen alarmingly since the government shutdown. A total of nearly 2 million applications were registered in mid-October.

Unemployment in the US has reached alarming levels PHOTO: EPA EFE

Figures released by the US Labor Department on Tuesday showed that the number of jobless claims registered in mid-October rose to 1.957 million. The data correspond to Saturday, October 18, writes Mediafax.

Americans filed a total of 232,000 new jobless claims in the period ended October, up from 219,000 in the period ended Sept. 20, the last period reported before the major US government shutdown.

According to data from the Department of Labor, the number of unemployment claims increased by 10,000 in October, being the highest number of claims recorded since the beginning of August.

The number of claims was even higher than September's highest number, when 1.916 million jobless claims were filed for the period ending September 13.