COVID-19 has cost Vermonters their livelihoods
Almost 55,000 Vermonters were unemployed in April, and the state’s jobless rate rose to 15.6 percent. The unemployment rate increase since January was the third highest in the country. This is the official rate, which counts people without a job who are actively seeking work. Since the beginning of March, almost 95,000 Vermonters have filed initial claims for unemployment compensation.
Jobs gone
The number of Vermont jobs reported in the monthly survey of employers dropped below 250,000 in April, to its lowest level since 1992. More than 60,000 jobs were lost in April; they’re down 65,000 since January. The service sector was the hardest hit, accounting for four in five lost jobs. The number of payroll jobs is different from the number of people employed. One person can have more than one job, and the count of people employed includes those who are self-employed.
Income down
More than half of Vermont adults reported losing income or living in a household that lost income since mid-March. That was one of the early findings of two new weekly U.S. Census surveys tracking the effects of the pandemic. The surveys were first conducted April 23 to May 5 and will continue through July.
