Coronavirus: US jobless rate soars to worst level since Great Depression

Unemployment in the US hasn’t been this bad since the Great Depression, with laid-off workers struggling to make ends meet.

United States unemployment has risen to its highest level since the Great Depression, with tens of millions of jobs wiped out in just one month.

On Friday, the US Labor Department said more than 20 million jobs were lost in April – the most ever reported.

It pushes the country’s unemployment rate to a whopping 14.7 per cent.

But the true number could actually be around 23.6 per cent - not far from the Depression peak of nearly 25 per cent - as the 14.7 per cent rate doesn’t include people who left the labour force or still consider themselves employed despite not working.

“The jobs report from hell is here … one never seen before and unlikely to be seen again barring another pandemic or meteor hitting the Earth,” Sal Guatieri, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, said.

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Unemployment reached as high as 25 per cent during the Great Depression. Picture: Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP

Wall Street stood empty on Friday with financial markets and businesses mostly closed. Picture: Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP

The Labor Department said the record losses were triggered by widespread shutdowns of factories, stores, offices and other businesses due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The vast majority of those laid off in April – roughly 75 per cent – said their job loss was temporary. But whether or not they’ll be able to return to the workforce any time soon, will be determined by how well policymakers, businesses and the public deal with the health crisis.

Economists worry it will take years to recover all the jobs lost, as the meltdown has occurred with startling speed.

In February, unemployment was at a more than 50-year low of 3.5 per cent, and the economy had added jobs every month for a record 9.5 years. In March, unemployment was 4.4 per cent.

“In just two months the unemployment rate has gone from the lowest rate in 50 years to the highest rate in almost 90 years,” said Gus Faucher, a chief economist at PNC Financial.

Nearly all the jobs growth achieved during the 11-year recovery from the financial meltdown has now been lost in one month.

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Economists worry it will take years to recover all the jobs lost. Picture: Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP

Leslie Calhoun lost his job cleaning casinos after 20 years. He, his wife, their two daughters and his sister-in-law are surviving on his wife’s paycheck from a medical facility as he wrestles with an unemployment system that has paid him nothing since he applied in March.

“The bills are piling up,” he said. “We’re eating a lot of ramen noodles and hot dogs. What I wouldn’t give for a nice meal of baked chicken and steak, some fresh vegetables.”

But US President Donald Trump has played down the unemployment numbers, pointing to substantial gains on global stock markets as proof that better times are ahead.

“We’re going to have a phenomenal year next year,” Mr Trump told reporters. “I think it’s going to come back blazing.”

“I’ll bring it back,” he told Fox News on Friday. “It’s fully expected. There’s no surprise. Everybody knows that. Even the Democrats aren’t blaming me for that.”

Mr Trump has also said he’s in “no rush” to negotiate another financial rescue bill.

Donald Trump has promised to bring the economy back if he’s reelected. Picture: Mandel Ngan/ AFP

While some businesses are beginning to reopen in certain states, factories, hotels, restaurants, resorts, sporting venues, movie theatres and many small businesses are still largely shuttered.

The government is dispensing nearly $US3 trillion to help households and businesses pull through, including $US1,200-per- person relief checks and an extra $US600 in weekly unemployment benefits.

Mr Trump has pushed aggressively to get businesses up and running again amid warnings from health experts that easing up too soon could lead to a deadly second wave of infections.

The US has suffered the deadliest coronavirus outbreak, with more than 77,000 fatalities and nearly 1.3 million cases so far.

Over the past seven weeks, an estimated 33.5 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits.

– With wires