US unemployment rate skyrockets to 14.7%, the worst since the Great Depression

The U.S. economy lost a staggering 20.5 million jobs in April, pushing the unemployment rate to 14.7% according to data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

April’s jobs report is the first of the monthly releases to show the extent of the economic devastation wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic. In February, the unemployment rate was at a historic low of 3.5%.