Filings for unemployment insurance claims totaled 1.877 million last week in a sign that the worst is over for the coronavirus-related jobs crisis but that the level of unemployment remains stubbornly high.

This was the first time the government's weekly jobless claims report came under 2 million since the week ended March 14.

Continuing claims, which provide a clearer picture of how many Americans remain unemployed, totaled 21.5 million, a gain of 649,000 over the past week, also worse than Wall Street expected.

The numbers came the day before the Labor Department releases its nonfarm payrolls report for May.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones are expecting a decline of 8.3 million and a 20.5% unemployment rate, more than double the highest previous level since the Great Depression.

More than 42.6 million Americans have filed jobless claims since the shutdown began in mid-March.

A day before the jobless claims report, ADP's private payrolls report on Wednesday showed a decrease of 2.76 million positions in May.