Employment in the US has been dropping for the first time in March since 2010. The widespread impact of the coronavirus pandemic is already reaching the once-strong US labor market.

Employees are down by 701,000 on a monthly basis, according to Labor Department data released Friday, which covers only the beginning of March, meaning people who have lost their jobs after the economy was blocked are not covered. This is before the introduction of restrictive measures that led to the closure of many businesses. The average forecast for economists was to close 100,000 jobs.

The US unemployment rises to 4.4% from 3.5%, the lowest level in half a century. Unemployment is expected to rise to over 10% in the coming months. The Department of Labor’s report states that the leisure and hospitality sector fell by 495,000 in March.

At the same time, civil servants increased by 12,000, while the number of temporary dismissals rose to 1.85 million from nearly 801,000 in February. This is the largest increase on a monthly basis since the 1960s.

The average hourly rate of pay increased 0.4% compared to the previous month and 3.1% on an annual basis, which is above the preliminary estimates.