Only 37% of workers furloughed in March returned to their jobs as of July

A growing number of jobs lost due to the coronavirus pandemic are disappearing forever.

A new analysis of payroll data published by Gusto found that less than half of furloughed employees have returned to work since March, and often for less money than they were earning pre-crisis.

The findings show that only 37% of workers furloughed in March, and 47% of those laid off in April, returned to their jobs as of July. A quarter of the workers furloughed in March who were re-hired and went back to their jobs had their wages slashed by 10% or more.

Just 14% of workers who returned to work are earning the same amount of money that they were previously making.

Of the millions of workers furloughed between March, when the COVID-19 outbreak triggered an unprecedented shutdown of the nation's economy, and June, 22% have been permanently laid-off.

The Labor Department's July jobs report released at the beginning of August showed that employers added 1.8 million jobs last month, sending the unemployment rate down to 10.2%.

While it marked the third consecutive month of job growth in the millions, the economy has so far added back less than half -- about 42% -- of the 22 million jobs it lost during the pandemic. Permanent losses reached 2.9 million in July, the report showed.

Another 1 million Americans filed for jobless benefits last week, the agency said Thursday, marking the 22nd time in 23 weeks that the number of workers seeking jobless benefits topped a million. Read more at FOX Business