The U.S. economy lost more than 20 million jobs in April, in what certainly marks the worst month for the U.S. labor market since the Great Depression. According to today’s jobs report, total nonfarm payroll employment fell by 20.5 million, bringing the unemployment rate to a staggering 14.7 percent.

As the following chart shows, that is by far the highest unemployment rate recorded in the U.S. in the post-war era. 75 years after the end of the Second World War, the United States along with many other countries in the world are facing what U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recently described as the most challenging crisis since WWII. Until today, the highest unemployment rate in post-war America, 10.8 percent, was recorded in December 1982, at the trough of a 16-month recession. The highest level of unemployment in recent history was observed in late 2009, shortly after the official end of the Financial Crisis. Back then the unemployment rate briefly hit 10 percent. Since then, the level of joblessness has gradually dropped to a 50-year low in February 2020, right before the pandemic hit American shores.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of unemployed persons rose to 23.1 million in April, 18.1 million of which reported being temporarily laid off. Unsurprisingly, given the nature of the measures taken to contain COVID-19, the leisure and hospitality sector suffered the biggest job losses in April with employment plummeting by 7.7 million. Employment in education and health services declined by 2.5 million, while 2.1 million retail jobs were lost.

source statista

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