The American economy lost 701,000 jobs in March, according to Labor Department numbers released this morning. It was the first decline in payrolls since September 2010 and came close to the May 2009 financial crisis peak of 800,000. The unemployment rate rose to 4.4 percent, up from 3.5 percent, to reach its highest level since August 2017.
As bad as these numbers are, there's good reason to think they're understated. The Bureau of Labor Statistics used as its reference period the week ending March 12, which was when the nation began shutting down. The weekly initial jobless claims reports have shown 10 million new filings for unemployment insurance over the past two weeks.
Some two-thirds of March's drop came in the hospitality industry, particularly bars and restaurants forced to close during the economic shutdown. That sector suffered 459,000 job losses, with 417,000 coming from food and drinking establishments. The Bureau of Labor Statistics noted that the drop nearly wiped out all of the gains from the past two years.
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