20.5 Million Jobs Lost in April

The Labor Department’s monthly jobs report has laid bare the devastating economic toll of the coronavirus pandemic, showing that the U.S. unemployment rate hit 14.7 percent in April, with 20.5 million people put out of work. That shatters the the post-World War II record of 10.8 percent in November 1982. The rate was 4.4 percent in March, and the spike is a record on a month-to-month basis. The number of unemployed Americans was listed at 23.1 million. The number of people who usually work full-time dropped by 15 million over...

The impact of the coronavirus-induced economic shutdown tore through the U.S. labor market in April at historic levels, slashing 20.5 million workers from nonfarm payrolls and sending the unemployment rate skyrocketing to 14.7%, the Labor Department reported Friday.

Both numbers easily smashed post-World War II era records and help reflect the profound damage done through efforts used to combat the virus.