US: Jobs numbers as bad as feared – RBC

US employment numbers confirm what we already knew: April was a historically bad month for job losses, economists at the Royal Bank of Canada reports.

Key quotes

“Nonfarm Payrolls fell by 20.5 million—more than doubling the cumulative 8.7 million jobs lost over two years during the last recession.” 

“The separate household survey showed a slightly larger 22.4 million drop in employment, though the number of unemployed persons rose by a lesser 15.9 million.”

“We think the US economy will only partially rebound over the second half of the year amid lingering health concerns and a need to rebuild savings. It will take a long time for the labour market to fully recover from the historic shock inflicted over the past two months.”