- The Great Depression was the worst economic crisis in US history, when unemployment reached 25%.
- When the pandemic hit in 2020, Americans hadn’t felt that level of economic tragedy in a century.
- These photos reveal what life looked like in the bleak 1930s after the stock market crashed.
During the Great Depression, the most tragic economic collapse in US history, more than 15 million Americans were left jobless and desperate for an income.
By 1932, nearly one in four Americans was out of a job, and by 1933, unemployment levels reached an estimated 25%.
For comparison, during the coronavirus pandemic, the US unemployment rate spiked to 14.7% in April 2020.
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These photos reveal how desolate the country looked during the Great Depression, when food and job lines stretched for blocks.
This story was originally published in May 2020 and was updated in July 2024.
