For Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari, Friday's jobs report stands as a stark reminder of how long it will take to return to pre-virus norms.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced Friday morning that the US unemployment rate soared to 14.7% in April, its highest level since the Great Depression. Nonfarm payrolls shrank by a record 20.5 million in the month, revealing the rapid labor-market deterioration fueled by the coronavirus pandemic.
The bureau's survey only accounts for those who are actively looking for work. Kashkari said on Thursday that current conditions make such job-hunting difficult, signaling the labor market is in a deeper rut than the report shows.
"That bad report tomorrow is actually going to understate how bad the damage has been," Kashkari said in a CNBC interview. "I think the real number is probably around 23% to 24%. It's devastating."
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While the unemployment rate hits its highest level in nearly a century, today's economic crisis isn't as horrific as that seen in the 1930s, the Minneapolis chief added.
"I don't think we're actually headed for another Great Depression," Kashkari said. "Part of the reason the Great Depression was as bad as it was was that policymakers in the 1930s did the wrong thing. I think we've learned from that."