The U.S. economy lost a staggering 20.5 million jobs in April, the steepest plunge in payrolls since the Great Depression and the starkest sign yet of how the coronavirus pandemic is battering the world’s biggest economy.
The U.S. economy lost a staggering 20.5 million jobs in April, the steepest plunge in payrolls since the Great Depression and the starkest sign yet of how the coronavirus pandemic is battering the world’s biggest economy.
The Department of Labor’s closely watched monthly employment report on Friday also showed the unemployment rate surging to 14.7 per cent last month, shattering the post-Second World War record of 10.8 per cent touched in November 1982.
The bleak numbers strengthen analysts’ expectations of a slow recovery from the recession caused by the pandemic, adding to a pile of dismal data on consumer spending, business investment, trade, productivity and the housing market.
The report underscores the devastation unleashe