BALTIMORE – U.S. employers laid-off 7.7 million workers in April — a sign of how deep the economic hole is as offices, restaurants, stores and schools are re-opening after being shuttered because of the coronavirus.The Labor Department also said in a Tuesday report that job openings plummeted and hiring all but disappeared in April.
The number of available jobs fell 16% from March to 5 million. Hires declined 31% to 3.5 million.The grim April — which followed an bleaker March with 11.5 million layoffs — suggests that the economy could take time to recover nearly a decade's worth of gains that vanished in two months.