The April unemployment rate rose to a record 14.7% and payrolls dropped by an unprecedented 20.5 million as the coronavirus pandemic hit the economy. By comparison, the steepest monthly loss on record back to 1939 was 1.96 million jobs in 1945, at the end of World War II.
The job losses and high unemployment mark a sharp pivot from just a few months ago, when the economy was pumping out hundreds of thousands of new jobs, and joblessness was hovering near 50-year lows. The jobs bust has been widespread. Friday’s jobs report will show the extent to which the economic pain has hit services and other lower-wage jobs, and white-collar jobs in business services, including lawyers, architects and consultants.
“It’s a very, very difficult situation, even for companies that were growing at a record pace before,” said Julia Pollak, labor economist at job site ZipRecruiter. “The big question is just, ‘How long-term will this be’?”