Unemployment hits 14.7%
The U.S. economy lost 20.5 million jobs in April and the unemployment rate rose to 14.7%, according to the latest Employment Situation Summary from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
For March, the Bureau revised its report to a decline of 870,000 jobs.
The unemployment rate for April is a 10.3% increase from the previous month. This is the highest rate and largest month-over-month increase since the Bureau began releasing seasonally-adjusted data in 1948.
Also, the number of unemployed persons who were jobless less than 5 weeks increased by 10.7 million to 14.3 million, accounting for almost two-thirds of the unemployed.
Additionally, the number of persons not in the labor force who currently want a job, at 9.9 million, nearly doubled in April.
The changes in these measures reflect the effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and efforts to contain it, the Bureau said.
“The unemployment rate shot up from under 4% pre-pandemic to over 14% now," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors. "The joblessness rate is certain to be higher next month, but soon afterward it will steadily fall. How fast and for how long will be determined by the containment of the virus."
Employment in leisure and hospitality plummeted by 7.7 million, or 47% percent with nearly 75% of jobs lost occurring in food services and drinking places.
Retail jobs fell by 2.1 million as manufacturing positions declined by 1.3 million in April. But general merchandise stores, including warehouse clubs and supercenters, gained 93,000 jobs.
Construction employment fell by 975,000 in April, with much of the loss in specialty trade contractors.
"Consider that the jobless rate shot up from 5% to 15% in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina," Yun noted. "However, it soon fell to 5% within a few months of reopening the city and from massive disaster relief funding. Though not comparable because a flood is different from fear, the current massive pandemic relief is providing support to lost income. Savings have doubled during the pandemic and could turn into spending very soon.”
The full April Employment Situation Summary from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is available here.
For March, the Bureau revised its report to a decline of 870,000 jobs.
The unemployment rate for April is a 10.3% increase from the previous month. This is the highest rate and largest month-over-month increase since the Bureau began releasing seasonally-adjusted data in 1948.
Also, the number of unemployed persons who were jobless less than 5 weeks increased by 10.7 million to 14.3 million, accounting for almost two-thirds of the unemployed.
Additionally, the number of persons not in the labor force who currently want a job, at 9.9 million, nearly doubled in April.
The changes in these measures reflect the effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and efforts to contain it, the Bureau said.
“The unemployment rate shot up from under 4% pre-pandemic to over 14% now," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors. "The joblessness rate is certain to be higher next month, but soon afterward it will steadily fall. How fast and for how long will be determined by the containment of the virus."
Employment in leisure and hospitality plummeted by 7.7 million, or 47% percent with nearly 75% of jobs lost occurring in food services and drinking places.
Retail jobs fell by 2.1 million as manufacturing positions declined by 1.3 million in April. But general merchandise stores, including warehouse clubs and supercenters, gained 93,000 jobs.
Construction employment fell by 975,000 in April, with much of the loss in specialty trade contractors.
"Consider that the jobless rate shot up from 5% to 15% in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina," Yun noted. "However, it soon fell to 5% within a few months of reopening the city and from massive disaster relief funding. Though not comparable because a flood is different from fear, the current massive pandemic relief is providing support to lost income. Savings have doubled during the pandemic and could turn into spending very soon.”
The full April Employment Situation Summary from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is available here.