WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. economy lost an incredible 20.5 million tasks in April, the steepest plunge in payrolls considering that the Great Anxiety and the starkest indication yet of how the unique coronavirus pandemic is damaging the world’s most significant economy.
FILE PHOTO: People who lost their jobs wait in line to file for joblessness following an outbreak of the coronavirus illness (COVID-19), at an Arkansas Workforce Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas, U.S. April 6,2020 REUTERS/Nick Oxford
The Labor Department’s carefully watched monthly work report on Friday likewise revealed the joblessness rate surging to 14.7%last month, shattering the post-World War 2 record of 10.8%touched in November1982
The bleak numbers reinforce analysts’ expectations of a sluggish recovery from the recession brought on by the pandemic, adding to a pile of disappointing data on consumer spending, business financial investment, trade, performance and the real estate market. The report underscores the devastation unleashed by lockdowns imposed by states and local governments in mid-March to slow the spread of COVID-19, the breathing il