America: Job losses in April likely topped 22 million

• The United States appears to have lost more than 20 million jobs in April, but even such a shockingly large increase might understate the destruction wrought by the coronavirus on the labour market.
• The large payroll processor ADP on Wednesday reported a 20.2 million decline in employment in April among the nation’s privately run companies. Small businesses, hotels, restaurants and retailers were especially hard hit.
• The government is expected to report a similarly large wipeout on Friday with the official employment report for April.
• Economists polled by MarketWatch predict 22 million jobs were eliminated last month, at least temporarily. And the unemployment rate is seen rocketing up to 15% from a 50-year low of only 3.5% two months ago.

Source: MarketWatch

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