With stay-at-home orders issued in most states and waves of layoffs, to date more than 26 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits over the last five weeks.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most industries experienced job losses in the past month, with the leisure and hospitality sector hit the hardest, down 459,000 jobs compared to February. The education and health services sector also lost 76,000 jobs. On the contrary, utilities, wholesale trade, information and government experienced a small gain in employment figures.
Within the leisure and hospitality sector, 417,000 fewer people were employed in food service and drinking places, such as restaurants and bars, and 29,000 fewer people in accommodations, such as hotels.
Despite increased demand for health care services under the current global pandemic, the health care sector experienced a total loss of 42,500 jobs, mainly in ambulatory health care services, such as the offices of dentists and physicians.
Within the retail trade sector, there are 16,000 fewer jobs in clothing and clothing accessories, followed by 10,000 fewer in furniture and home furnishings stores and 9,000 fewer in sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores. However, food and beverage stores and general merchandise stores experienced a rise in the number of employees.
Here's the full breakdown:
