Intro

5.2 million people filed for unemployment benefits last week, bringing the four-week total to 22 million — nearly wiping out all the job gains made since the Great Recession.

Retail spending, another key economic indicator, is also suffering: down a record 8.7% last month, the largest monthly fall since the Commerce Department began tracking retail sales three decades ago.

This episode: political correspondent Scott Detrow, political reporter Danielle Kurtzleben, and chief economics correspondent Scott Horsley.

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