Covid-19: US jobless rate spikes to 14.7%, highest since Great Depression

The US unemployment rate hit 14.7 per cent in April, the highest rate since the Great Depression, as 20.5 million jobs vanished in the worst monthly loss on record. 

The figures are stark evidence of the damage the coronavirus has done to a now-shattered economy.

 

The losses reflect what has become a severe recession caused by sudden business shutdowns in nearly every industry. 

Nearly all the job growth achieved during the 11-year recovery from the Great Recession has now been lost in one month.