Unemployment Is at Its Worst Since the Great Depression

COVID-19 has been battering the U.S. economy since mid-March, and the labor market has suffered exponentially. An estimated 20.5 million Americans lost their jobs in the month of April alone, boosting the country's unemployment rate to an astounding 14.7%. In fact, unemployment hasn't been this bad since the Great Depression.

Back in March, state and local governments began imposing stay-at-home orders to promote social distancing -- a move health advocates insist is essential to curbing the spread of COVID-19. As such, any business deemed non-essential was effectively forced to close, thereby leading to millions of layoffs in a short period of time.

Gig economy workers have been struggling, too. Those who drive for a living, for example, aren't seeing their usual customer flow. How could they, when everyone's being told to stay home? And because larger companies are cutting expenses, independent contractors have become increasingly expendable.

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Source Fool.com