Answer: The Great Depression had devastating effects on many economies around the world. Unemployment rose to unprecedented levels, poverty increased, and homelessness spiked. In the United States, output from factories and farms declined sharply, and millions of Americans lost their jobs.
The agricultural sector was particularly hard hit by the Great Depression. Farm income fell sharply, and prices for farm products plummeted. In fact, farm foreclosures increased dramatically during the period. The Dust Bowl – a massive drought that struck the Midwest in the early 1930s – only made matters worse for farmers.