Coronavirus pandemic ravages US payrolls, April job losses top 20 million

The US economy lost a staggering 20.5 million jobs in April, the steepest plunge in payrolls since the Great Depression and the starkest sign yet of how the novel coronavirus pandemic is battering the world’s biggest economy.

The Labor Department’s closely watched monthly employment report on Friday also showed the unemployment rate surging to 14.7% last month, shattering the post-World War Two record of 10.8% touched in November 1982.

KEY POINTS:
 

US April nonfarm payrolls -20.5 million, better than consensus forecast of -22 million

US private sector jobs -19.520 million, vs -21.05 million expected

April factory jobs -1.33 million, vs