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In reply to the discussion: Jobless rate soared to 14.7% in April as U.S. shed 20.5 million jobs amid coronavirus pandemic [View all]UpInArms
(51,280 posts)The numbers: The coronavirus pandemic destroyed a massive 20.5 million jobs in April, driving the unemployment rate to a post Word War Two high of X% as the United States faced its biggest economic crisis in almost a century.
The devastating trail of job losses was heaviest at retailers, restaurants, hotels and manufacturers, but every major industry suffered. The health-care sector even lost 1.4 million jobs amid the worst health crisis in American history, according to government figures released Friday morning.
The unemployment rate leaped to double digits from a 50-year low of just 3.5% two months ago, but the share of idled workers is almost certainly higher. A broader measure of unemployment that includes discouraged jobseekers and other people on the fringes of the labor market skyrocketed to a record 22.8%.
In seven weeks since the virus shut down much of the U.S. economy, more than 33 million people have applied for unemployment benefits. The numbers are still growing by several million a week.
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Although the government didnt keep records back then, economic historians estimate unemployment peaked at 25% in 1933.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/coronavirus-costs-the-us-205-million-jobs-in-april-unemployment-soars-to-147-2020-05-08?mod=mw_latestnews