Some say that the worst is yet to come, as last week's figures may fail to show an accurate picture.

"It's the tip of the iceberg, and they're going to be ugly. It depends on the speed at which the claims were filed, and the next week will probably be worse," chief economist at Grant Thornton, Diane Swonk, said as cited by CNBC.

Last week, new jobless claims in the US saw the biggest weekly surge in nearly eight years as they hit a two-and-a-half year high of 281,000.

Canada also saw an unprecedented jump in jobless claims. According to government sources cited by various media, 929,000 people (or around five percent of the labor force), applied for unemployment insurance last week.

Key American stock indexes opened higher on Thursday despite fresh jobs data revealing a worse than expected number of unemployment claims which has surged to over three million.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 500 points, or over two percent during early trading. Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite jumped more than one percent higher. Thursday's trading marked the third consecutive positive opening for US stocks, which have been on a wild ride in recent weeks.

Negative US jobs data sent European markets down, with stocks in London, Paris and Frankfurt trading nearly one percent lower. Asian markets also fell earlier in the day, with Japan's Nikkei plunging almost five percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng losing over one percent.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 dropped 1.5 percent in early trade on Thursday, with basic resources tumbling 2.7 percent to lead losses as all sectors and major bourses plunged into negative territory.

Britain's FTSE 100 index shed almost three percent at the opening bell in London. France's CAC 40 is down by 2.4 percent, while Germany's DAX slid 219 points or 2.3 percent.

Asia Pacific markets also stumbled earlier in the day, with Japan's Nikkei closing down by almost five percent.

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Tips leading to the narcotrafficking arrest or conviction of National Constituent Assembly President Diosdado Cabello Rondon, retired generals Hugo Carvajal Barrios and Clive Alcala Cordones, or Minister for Industry and National Production Tareck Zaidan El Aissami Maddah can net as much as $10 million, the statement continued.

The rewards were unveiled on the same day as the US Justice Department unsealed indictments against the Venezuelan leaders for the same drug trafficking crimes - suggesting that Washington's evidence isn't as solid as Attorney General William Barr has claimed.

If evidence against Maduro and his compatriots is at such a premium that the State Department will pay $15 million for it, the Venezuelans are unlikely to see the inside of a US court anytime soon.

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