The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic took a toll in the employment status of the United States. Focusing on 2020, the employment-population ratio dropped significantly to 57.4 percent, a 3.6 percentage points lesser than it had been in 2019. Similarly, the labor force participation rate declined to 61.5 percent, a 1.7 percentage points lower than the year before.
In the fourth quarter of 2020, there were 10.8 million unemployed individuals which was a rise of 4.9 million from 2019. Likewise, the unemployment rate also rose to an average of 6.7 percent which was nearly double to what it was the year earlier.
Source:
Bureau of Labor and Statistics: https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2021/article/unemployment-rises-in-2020-as-the-country-battles-the-covid-19-pandemic.htm