US Economy Suffers First Payroll Decline Since 2010 Amid COVID-19 Crisis

The US economy took a hit in March as nonfarm payrolls dropped by 701,000, marking the first decline since September 2010. This significant drop was largely due to the effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) and efforts to contain it.

The unemployment rate rose to 4.4 percent, surpassing economists' expectations who had predicted a payroll decline of 10,000 and an unemployment rate of 3.7 percent. The report also highlighted notable declines in employment in leisure and hospitality, health care and social assistance, professional and business services, retail trade, and construction.

The coronavirus crisis has undoubtedly caused economic damage, with the US economy being no exception. As employers began to cut payrolls ahead of social distancing practices that shut down large swaths of the U.S. economy, the unemployment rate increased.