Washington, May 9 (RHC)-- Economists are describing the job crisis in the United States as the worst since the Great Depression.  Three million 200 thousand people filed for unemployment last week, bringing the total to over 33 million since the pandemic began.  Many other workers have suffered reduced pay or hours. 

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the unemployment rate hit 14.7% in April, the highest rate since the Great Depression.  As millions of Americans struggle to pay for food, Republican lawmakers are refusing to back an expansion of the federal Food Stamp Program. 

Meanwhile, The Washington Post reports the Small Business Association has quietly slashed the size of emergency disaster loans it is issuing to just $150,000.  The limit had been $2 million.