The weak March number doesn't even come close to fully reflecting the impact of the novel coronavirus.
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The US economy lost 701,000 jobs in March, even before the worst of the coronavirus shutdown
Carmen Reinicke
13 minutes ago
Associated Press
- The Bureau of Labor Statistics said nonfarm payrolls contracted by 701,000 in March as the coronavirus forced a widespread US economic shutdown.
- That marked a sharp decline from the revised number for February and was far deeper than the 100,000 job losses forecasted by economists. It's the first time that the monthly report has shown jobs lost since 2010.
- The report likely doesn't show the full extent of coronavirus-driven damage. Friday's report only includes data through March 14, meaning it does not count the last two weeks of the month, a period that saw 10 million Americans file for unemployment insurance.
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The US labor market contracted in March for the first time since 2010 as the coronavirus forced a widespread US economic shutdown.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics said the US lost 701,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in March. That marked a sharp decline from the revised number for February and was far deeper than the 100,000 job losses forecasted by economists. It's also the first time since 2010 the report has shown jobs lost.
In addition, the US unemployment rate rose to 4.4% from 3.5% in February.
The report comes amid economic uncertainty due to the coronavirus pandemic. Throughout the month of March, the situation in the US rapidly deteriorated as the number of cases of COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus, spiked. On Thursday, global cases of COVID-19 passed 1 million, with more than 50,000 deaths.
"There's a psychological barrier that crossing or ending the positive job streak will have," Glassdoor economist Daniel Zhao told Business Insider.