U.S. economy lost a total of 701,000 jobs in March

The U.S. economy lost a total of 701,000 jobs in March, bringing a record 10-year streak of employment gains to a halt as the coronavirus pandemic continues to hammer the workforce and shatter economic growth.

The closely watched monthly jobs data, released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, also shows the unemployment rate soared to 4.4 percentfrom 3.5 percent, after months at a half-century low.

March's data represents the tip of the iceberg, however, since the survey was conducted in the first half of the month, prior to the pandemic's grip on the economy.

Since the jobs data is always backward-looking, economists prefer to look at longer time periods — such as the three-month average — to spot trends. However, the economy has undergone a head-spinning pivot in a matter of weeks.

While March's number far outpaced expectations of 100,000 jobs lost, economists and market participants are in agreement that the April jobs report, which will be released May 8, will better illustrate the havoc wreaked by the coronavirus on the workforce. Some economists are predicting the unemployment number could be as high as 20 million.

“April will be a disaster for labor markets,” Michael Gapen, chief U.S. economist at Barclays, told CNBC. “We still have two more weeks, and we’re probably looking at an unemployment rate of more than 10 percent in April."