Canada lost 1,011,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate shot up to 7.8% in March from 5.6% in February, StatsCan says. The number dwarfs the previous record of 129,000, set in January of 2009 at the height of the last recession. It& #39;s twice what economists predicted.

In the U.S., 10% of the labour force is now out of work as 6.6 million people filed jobless claims last month.

The U.S. job losses last month far surpass the worst-case scenario economists had anticipated. They show roughly 1 in 10 workers lost their jobs in the past 3 weeks. It& #39;s now predicted the jobless rate could hit 15% in April as more companies close due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Markets climb despite staggering unemployment numbers in both the United States and Canada. Dow up 440 (1.8%) while TSX climbs 360 (2.5%). Investors appear reassured after US Fed unveils $2.3T liquidity program to support local governments and small and medium-sized businesses.

March employment fell in all provinces, Statistics Canada says. Ontario suffered the largest drop with 403,000 losses (5.3%), followed by Quebec with 264,000 (6.0%), B.C. with 132,000 (5.2%), and Alberta with 117,000 (5.0%).

Besides the number of people who lost their jobs in March, the people who were still employed experienced a massive drop in the number of hours worked. 2.1 million people saw their hours fall, which is 8 times higher than during the ice storm of January 1998.