the labour department said Friday that the economy shed more than 20.5 million jobs in April, sending the unemployment rate to 14.7 per cent — devastation unseen since the Great Depression. The report underscores the speed and depth of the labour market’s collapse as the coronavirus pandemic took a devastating toll. In February, the unemployment rate was 3.5 per cent, a half-century low. And even since the survey was taken, millions of people have filed claims for jobless benefits. The April job losses alone far exceed the 8.7 million in the last recession, when unemployment peaked at 10 per cent in October 2009. The only comparable period came when the rate reached about 25 per cent in 1933, before the government began publishing official statistics.

If anything, the report understates the damage. The government’s definition of unemployment typically requires people to be actively looking for work. And the unemployment rate doesn’t reflect the millions still working who have had their hours slashed or their pay cut. Many of the unemployed said they had been temporarily laid off and expected to return to their jobs. But the joblessness that began with layoffs in the leisure and hospitality industry has extended throughout the economy, from manufacturing and retail industries to white-collar redoubts like business services, meaning it will take longer for the labour market to recover. Many people still employed have had their hours reduced. Others have suffered pay cuts. Some who have lost jobs won’t have been able to look for work amid widespread shutdowns and won’t even be counted as unemployed. A broader measure —the proportion of adults with jobs — could plunge to a record low. “What we’re talking about here is pretty stunning,” said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Grant Thornton. “The shock is unique because the cause is unique. It’s such a different animal from anything that we’ve ever seen.” The total number of layoffs is now nearly 34 million since the shutdowns began seven weeks ago. That figure is much larger than the expected April job loss because the two are measured differently: The government calculates job losses by surveying businesses and households. It’s a net figure that also counts the hiring that some companies, like Amazon and many grocery stores, have done despite the widespread layoffs. By contrast, the total jobless claims is a cumulative figure that includes aid applications that began in March. Still, the job loss for April may be much larger than expected, with most economists acknowledging that their usual models might not work as well in a collap