According to US Footwearnews: April recorded its worst monthly unemployment rate ever as 20.5 million jobs were eliminated amid the spread of the coronavirus.
Dozens of shops, offices and businesses were forced to close their doors for weeks, resulting in many non-essential Employers, including retailers, are laid off or furloughed. The retail sector alone lost 2.1 million jobs in the month, with clothing and clothing accessories stores losing the most at 739,600 jobs.
Screenshot of footwearnews report
Footwear Retailer employment has also been hit hard
Job opportunities at shoe stores fell sharply in April, according to FDRA, a US footwear distributor and retailer.
FDRA estimates U.S. footwear industry employment at nearly 127,000, compared with initial projections of more than 300,000 before the economic impact of the COVID-19 health crisis (these numbers include the footwear industry production, repair, wholesale, distribution and retail industry jobs). This equates to approximately 173,000 shoe workers who have been laid off from shoe factories across the United States.
Matt Priest, FDRA President and CEO, said: “Today’s jobless numbers and corresponding FDRA employment analysis tell us that these are historically challenging times that will bring More pain and economic devastation.” “As stores begin to slowly open and our industry continues to evolve its reopening strategies to welcome customers and employees in a safe and engaging environment, my greatest hope is that we see these numbers can develop in a positive direction as soon as possible.”
Recently, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that the unemployment rate surged to 14.7% last month, the highest level since the beginning of World War II. The worst record since the government started tracking the data. Over the past few weeks, the pandemic has eradicated all jobs since the Great Depression and halted a decade of U.S. economic growth.
As more states, including Colorado, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee, begin to reopen businesses in phases, many workers may eventually be forced to unemployment.
“My immediate message to all workers who are furloughed during this period is: stay connected so that we can get through this unprecedented crisis together as an industry,” Priest added. </p
