WASHINGTON - The number of initial jobless claims in the United States surged by 3.34 million to reach 6.65 million last week as COVID-19 devastates the economy, setting a second straight record, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Thursday.

In the week ending March 28, the number of people filing for US unemployment benefits spiked by 3,341,000 to 6,648,000, the bureau said.

The newly released number came after the figure spiked by 3 million to reach a record 3.3 million in the previous week, which was revised up slightly to 3.31 million.

"The COVID-19 virus continues to impact the number of initial claims. Nearly every state providing comments cited the COVID-19 virus," according to the report.

The bureau noted "states continued to identify increases related to the services industries broadly, again led by accommodation and food services."

However, state comments indicated a wider impact across industries. "Many states continued to cite the health care and social assistance, and manufacturing industries, while an increasing number of states identified the retail and wholesale trade and construction industries," the bureau said.