Unemployment rate jumps to 14.7% as 20.5M jobs cut in April

courtneyk/iStockBy JEANETTE TORRES-PEREZ, ABC News

(WASHINGTON) — U.S. employers cut 20.5 million jobs in April amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Labor Department reported Friday morning.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said employment fell sharply in all major industry sectors last month, especially in leisure and hospitality, which dropped by 7.7 million.

The unemployment rate, meanwhile, shot up to 14.7 percent.

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