Unemployment Rate Soars To Record-Shattering 14.7 Percent

The U.S. economy lost a mind-blowing 20.5 million jobs in April, a number ten times the previous record and by far the highest seen since the Great Depression. From NBC News:

The unemployment rate soared to 14.7 percent, up from 4.4 percent in March after months at a half-century low, according to the monthly employment report, released Friday by the Department of Labor.

In just over a month, the coronavirus has wiped out all job gains since the Great Recession and brought the country’s decade-long record economic growth streak to an abrupt halt.

April’s staggering jobless total is more than 10 times that of the previous unemployment record of 1.96 million, set in September 1945, when American soldiers returned home after World War II. The new unemployment rate is the worst since the height of the Great Depression, when it hit 24.9 percent.

Applications for unemployment benefits last week totaled 3.17 million bringing the 7-week running tally to 33.5 million

WATCH: Unemployment rate spikes to 14.7% in April as number of COVID-19 cases continue to rise. #MTPDaily@ChuckTodd: “Fighting this virus has caused an historical spike in layoffs … U.S. lost more than 20 million jobs just in the month of April.” pic.twitter.com/fz8uoz6Ru1

— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) May 8, 2020