U.S. economy sheds 701,000 jobs

The U.S. economy lost 701,000 jobs in March, it’s worst month since 2009, as the full-impact of the Coronavirus pandemic began to be felt.

This marked the first time since September 2010 that the country posted a job loss in one month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

Unemployment rose to 4.4 percent, the highest jobless rate since August 2017. The .9 percent change between February and March was the largest single-month change in the jobless rate since January 1975, the bureau reported.

Most of the job losses happened took place in travel and hospitality, where 417,400 jobs were lost. Retail cut 46,200 jobs and health care employment dropped by 43,000, according to the bureau’s monthly report.