Here's what 5 economists are saying about unemployment after 26 million Americans filed jobless claims in just 5 weeks

A masked worker at this state WIN job center in Pearl, Miss., holds an unemployment benefit application form as she waits for a client, Tuesday, April 21, 2020. The job centers lobbies are closed statewide to prevent the spread of COVID-19. However the continuing growth of unemployment demands and now additional assistance for self-employed, church employees, gig workers, and others who were previously ineligible for unemployment assistance has drawn some people to the centers for information and to obtain and submit unemployment benefit applications. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)Associated Press

• On Thursday, the Labor Department released its weekly jobless claims report, showing 4.4 million Americans filed for unemployment in the week ending April 18.
• In the last five weeks, 26 million Americans have lost jobs and filed for unemployment benefits as economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic continues.
• Here's what five economists said following Thursday's weekly jobless claims report.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

In the last five weeks, 26 million Americans have filed for unemployment claims as layoffs persist amid the coronavirus pandemic.

While the latest report showed a third weekly decline since jobless claims peaked at nearly 7 million in the last week of March, the continued elevated losses are staggering. Cumulative claims in the last five weeks are roughly equivalent to filings between January and October 2009, the worst 10 months of the Great Recession.

"At this stage, the signs are not promising," Seema Shah, chief strategist at Principal Global Investors, told Business Insider. While initial claims have declined from the peak, continuing claims are still growing, showing that people remain out of work despite support from the US government, she said.

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How long people remain out of work is where much of the focus will be from now on, according to Shah. "The more unemployment rises, the slower the eventual recovery may be," she said.

Going forward, economists will continue to monitor weekly jobless claims as they provide one of the best snapshots of what's currently happening in the US economy. In addition, all eyes will be on the April jobs report, released in early May. That report is expected to show a huge spike in the unemployment rate, reflecting the worst weeks of jobless claims from the coronavirus pandemic.

Here's what five economists said about Thursday's weekly jobless claims report: