By Tom Burnett CFA
On May 8, 2020, the Department of Labor reported that the U.S. economy experienced job losses of 20.5 million in April. That decline compared to a loss of 870,000 in the prior month. In addition, employment for February and March was revised downward by 217,000. The unemployment rate rose from 4.4% in the prior month to 14.7%, representing the largest one-month jobs decline in the history of the data series which began in 1939.
The number of employed workers is now 133 million, compared to 156 million one year ago. The level of employment is back down to the level last seen in February 2011. As expected, the number of unemployed workers has risen sharply to 23.0 million from 5.8 million a year ago.
The next monthly jobs report will be released on June 5.
Tom Burnett CFA is Director of Research