The scale of job losses is likely to hit unprecedented levels in the coming weeks and months as business activity in cities, municipalities and states is brought to a sudden halt in an attempt to lessen the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Industries from energy and airlines to cruise operators are being hammered and a recent research piece by the developers of the U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index estimates that some 37 million domestic jobs are vulnerable to layoffs due the temporary shutdowns created by the viral outbreak. COVID-19 was first identified in Wuhan, China, in December and has infected more than 318,000 people worldwide and claimed nearly 14,000 lives, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University as of Sunday afternoon.