United States: Labor Market Overview, April 2020

(31 May 2020)  The US economy lost 20.5 million non-farm jobs in April, as COVID-19 shutdown the economy and the labor marketing, leading the unemployment rate to skyrocket 14.7 percent, the largest drop in employment since the government started capturing the data. 

• The jobs lost and unemployment rate figures were below the Dow Jones Survey’s expectations of 21.5 million and 16 percent, respectively.
• To put these figures into perspective, the unemployment rate in April was higher than the post WWII figure of 10.8 percent and the financial crisis peak of 10 percent in October 2009. The rate is, however, still less than experienced during the  Great Depression, estimated at 24.9 percent.

Unemployment Rate by Race

The US unemployment rate in April was highest for Hispanics (18.9%), followed by African Americans (16.7%), Asians (14.5%), and whites (14.2%).

Unemployment Rate by Gender

The unemployment rate in April for women (16.2%) was nearly three points higher than for men (13.5%), reflecting the prevalence of women in hard-hit hospitality and retail jobs. This was the highest recorded unemployment gap between men and women, followed by the global financial crisis of 2008-2009 during which it was men facing the higher unemployment rates.