Washington, May 10 (RHC)-- The U.S. unemployment rate hit 14.7 percent in April, the highest in the post-war era, as 20.5 million jobs vanished in the worst monthly loss on record.
The figures are a stark evidence of the damage the coronavirus pandemic has done to a now-shattered economy.
The unprecedented collapse drove the unemployment rate well beyond the peak hit in late 2009 during the global financial crisis - from 4.4 percent in March.
The plunge in nonfarm payroll employment was the largest ever recorded since 1939, while the jobless rate was the highest and the biggest increase since 1948, the Labor Department report said.
