A devastating jobs report for April will show virus’s impact
By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government is poised to report the worst set of job numbers since record-keeping began in 1948, a snapshot of the devastating damage the coronavirus outbreak has inflicted on the economy. The unemployment rate could reach 16% or more. Twenty-one million jobs may have been lost in April. If so, it would mean that nearly all the job growth in the 11 years since the Great Recession ended had vanished in one month. Even those grim numbers won’t fully capture the scope of the damage the coronavirus has inflicted on jobs and incomes. Many people who are still employed have had their hours reduced. Others have suffered pay cuts.