Tehran, 04 April_The novel coronavirus-induced lockdown in the United States has closed many businesses and factories, resulting in the highest unemployment rate to hit the nation in decades.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) -Latest government data showed that the US labor market had lost 701,000 jobs in March.
The data, which was released by the Labor Department on Friday, also showed that the unemployment rate had risen to highest rate in decades.
However, the Labor Department noted that it was yet too soon and it could not precisely quantify the whole impact of the pandemic on the job market.
Experts say it will be at least another month or two before the official government data reveals the full economic devastation caused the pandemic.
Meanwhile, media reports speculated that the surging US unemployment rate might reach near to the peak of 25% seen during the Great Depression of the 1930s.
In the last two weeks of March, more than 10 million Americans filled out requests forms to receive unemployment salary after being layed off due the pandemic.
Some economists are reportedly predicting that some 20 million jobs — or more -- could be lost in the United States.
In the meantime, Wall Street stocks fell after the government reported the devastating data related to the tragic US labor market.
In early trading on Friday, all the three major US stock indexes dropped.
About 10 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 21,337.45, down 0.4 percent.
The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 0.1 percent to 2,523.80, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index also dipped 0.1 percent to 7,483.24.
The official labor market report indicated the worst job loss since March 2009 during the depths of the global financial crisis.
It also showed the biggest single-month jump in the jobless rate in more than 45 years, the report said.
Petroleum-linked stocks, however, saw a rare rebound as oil prices went up on news that OPEC was set to hold a video conference with non-cartel members, notably Russia, to reach an agreement oil production and export in order to stabilize global oil prices.
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