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US employment plummeted last month in the first decline since 2010, offering an initial look at the widespread devastation the coronavirus pandemic has already begun to wreak on the once-strong labor market.
Payrolls fell 701 000 from the prior month - compared with the median forecast of economists for a 100 000 decline - according to Labor Department data Friday that mainly cover the early part of March, even before government-mandated shutdowns forced firms to lay off millions more workers.
The jobless rate jumped to 4.4% from a half-century low of 3.5%, and is expected to surge above 10% in the coming months.
