US unemployment rate hits 14.7% - the highest rate since the Great Depression - as more than 20.5 million people across the country suffer job losses amid COVID-19

The US economy lost a staggering 20.5 million jobs in April - the steepest plunge since the 1930s Great Depression and the starkest sign yet of how coronavirus is battering the world's biggest economy.

The Labor Department's closely watched monthly employment report released on Friday showed the unemployment rate spiked to 14.7 percent last month - up from a 50-year low of 3.5 percent in February.  

The latest figures do not account for the many people who lost their jobs in April and didn't look for another one, including millions of workers furloughed during the pandemic. 

The impact of those losses was reflected in the drop in the proportion of working-age Americans who have jobs: Just 51.3 percent - the lowest on record. 

The US unemployment rate has skyrocketed to 14.7 percent in April - the highest rate since the 1930s Great Depression - as more than 20.5 million Americans suffer job losses amid the coronavirus pandemic

Data for March was revised to show 870,000 jobs lost instead of 701,000 as previously reported with the unemployment rate jumping to 4.4 percent from a 50-year low of 3.5 percent. 

That figure, however, did not account for the millions of jobs lost in the final two weeks of March when the coronavirus pandemic forced states to shut down. 

The latest 14.7 percent rate comes a day after the Labor Department's report into weekly unemployment benefit claims showed nearly 3.2 million laid-off workers applied for aid in the week ending May 2. 

At least 33.5 million people have now filed for jobless aid in the seven weeks since the coronavirus began forcing millions of companies to close their doors, bringing the US economy to a near standstill. 

The latest weekly claims data had no impact on the government's April jobs report because it falls outside the period during which the government surveyed establishments and households for its monthly report.  

The bleak numbers strengthen analysts' expectations of a slow recovery from the recession caused by the pandemic, adding to a pile of dismal data on consumer spending, business investment, trade, productivity and the housing market. 

The unemployment report underscores the devastation unleashed by lockdowns imposed by states in mid-March to slow the spread of COVID-19.

In addition to the millions of newly unemployed, 5.1 million others had their hours reduced in April, according to the report. 

There were 3.2 million new claims for unemployment benefits filed in the week ending May 2, according to a Labor Department report released on Thursday

At least 33.5 million people have now filed for jobless aid in the seven weeks since the coronavirus began forcing millions of companies to close their doors, bringing the US economy to a near standstill