The latest jobs report offered a sobering assessment of the economic impact from the 2019-2020 coronavirus pandemic.

However, one overlooked portion; more specifically, its poll of households, suggests an even gloomier picture of the unemployment situation in the country. (CNBC)

The household survey, which asks individual residents how many people are working there, showed a stunning drop of 2,987,000 workers for the month.

That compares with the nonfarm payrolls decline of 701,000 reported in the establishment survey and gives another perspective to just how bad the situation has gotten since the economy has all but shut down to protect against the coronavirus spread.

When releasing its headline nonfarm payroll numbers, the government focuses on the establishment survey as it captures a larger sample size and is considered less volatile than the household count. The establishment survey captures about 145,000 businesses and work sites, while its counterpart focuses on 60,000 eligible households and includes agricultural workers.

Both use the week up to the 12th of the month for sampling, which in this case was before the worst of the job losses began.