Business

Coronavirus economic updates: US cuts 701K jobs in March, unemployment rate jumps to 4.4%

Coronavirus economic updates: US cuts 701K jobs in March, unemployment rate jumps to 4.4%Gwengoat/iStock(WASHINGTON) — The coronavirus pandemic has quickly evolved from a health crisis to a financial one, shuttering businesses, upending entire industries and sending financial markets reeling.

Here’s the latest news on how the COVID-19 crisis is affecting the economy:

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos pledges $100 million donation to US food banks

Amazon’s CEO and founder Jeff Bezos announced he was donating $100 million to Feeding America, which would help restock food banks and food pantries in the time of economic uncertainty.

“Non-profit food banks and food pantries rely in large part on surplus food from a range of food businesses. For example, many restaurants donate excess food. But during this time of social distancing, restaurants are closed, and many other normal channels of excess food have also shut down,” Bezos wrote in an Instagram post announcing the donation. “To make matters worse, as supply is dwindling, demand for food bank services is going up.⁣”

Bezos currently tops Forbes’ list of billionaires, with an estimated net worth of approximately $117 billion.

The donation comes just days after a group of Amazon employees at a warehouse in New York City walked off their jobs, demanding the company shut down and thoroughly clean the facility amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

US cuts 701K jobs in March amid coronavirus pandemic, unemployment rate at 4.4%

U.S. employers cut 701,000 jobs in March and the unemployment rate rose to 4.4% from 3.5%, according to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The new report released Friday is the first to show the initial impacts of the novel coronavirus pandemic on the U.S. labor market.

The COVID-19 outbreak has brought U.S. businesses to a screeching halt. At least 45 states have issued or announced statewide closures of all non-essential businesses to help stop the spread of coronavirus in the U.S.

Some of the biggest job losses occurred in leisure and hospitality, especially in food and drinking services, according to the government. Notable losses also occurred in health care/social assistance, professional/ businesses services, retail and construction.

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