The Diminishing Power Of Labour While the coronavirus is hurting working people, especially lower-income workers, it is mainly exacerbating underlying inequalities in the economy. outlookindia.com 2021-01-12T07:37:30+05:30 In 2020, the US economy shed a net 9.37 million jobs, exceeding the 5.05 million jobs lost in 2009 in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. Hardest hit last year were hotels, restaurants and related industries, driving up unemployment among minorities, the young and less educated workers, according to an article published by The Wall Street Journal. The US payrolls decreased by 140,000 jobs last month, the first decline since April, after increasing by 336,000 in November. The US economy ended 2020 with 9.4 million fewer jobs. The US economy has recovered 12.4 million of the 22.2 million jobs lost during the pandemic. “December's jobs report provides clear evidence that we can't expect the labor market to recover until the pandemic is over," said Erica Groshen, ex-commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Senior labor economics adviser at the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations.