( Reuters) – The U.S. economy lost an incredible 20.5 million tasks in April, the steepest plunge in payrolls considering that the Great Depression and the starkest sign yet of how the novel coronavirus pandemic is damaging the world’s biggest economy.
FILE PICTURE: Individuals who lost their jobs wait in line to apply for joblessness following an outbreak of the coronavirus illness (COVID-19), at an Arkansas Labor Force Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas, U.S. April 6,2020 REUTERS/Nick Oxford
The Labor Department’s carefully watched monthly employment report on Friday also revealed the unemployment rate surging to 14.7%last month, shattering the post-World War 2 record of 10.8%touched in November1982
BOTTOM LINE:
U.S. April nonfarm payrolls -205 million, much better than consensus projection of -22 million
U.S. economic sector tasks -19520 million, vs -2105 million anticipated
April factory tasks -1.33 million, vs agreement -2.5 million
U.S. April goods-producing tasks -2.355 million, building -975,000, private service-providing jobs -17165 million, retail -2.107 million
U.S. government jobs -980,000
U.S. workforce participation rate 60.2%vs 62.7%in March
U.S. April unemployed rate 14.7%(agreement 16.0%) vs March 4.4%
MARKET RESPONSE:
STOCKS: S&P 500 stock index futures slightly extend gains, last up 1.1%, pointing to a higher openBONDS: Yields on the U.S. 10- year Treasury rose to 0.6640%and two-year yields increased to 0.1309%FOREX: The United States Dollar Index turned a little bit higher, last up 0.004%
REMARKS:
QUINCY KROSBY, PRIMARY MARKET STRATEGIST AT PRUDENTIAL FINANCIAL, NEWARK, NEW JERSEY
” Despite the truth it is lower than what was anticipated, the numbers are depressing. There is another element to this– it is how condensed it is. These number occurred rapidly, it was a result of government shutdowns, not due to the fact that of a prolonged 12 years of anxiety. To counter that, it is important to see the attempt to open the economy which is what the market is concentrated on, rather than the miserable imp