In the last month roughly 1 in 7 US workers have lose their jobs, making it the worst stretch of US job losses on record
Wearing a mask and a surgical glove to prevent coronavirus spread, a jobless man named Paul panhandles at an intersection in Falls Church, Virginia, US, April 3, 2020
The grim figures point to an economy that is tumbling into what appears to be a calamitous recession, the worst in decades. The nation’s output could shrink by roughly 10.5 percent before it starts to rebound, according to Ryan Sweet, an economist at Moody’s Analytics. That would be more than double the contraction that occurred during the 2008-2009 recession, which was the worst downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
It’s unlikely that all those workers will be laid off or file for unemployment benefits. But it suggests the extraordinary magnitude of unemployment that could result from the pandemic. That figure is less than the number of applicants in part because it lags behind the number of first-time jobless claims figure by a week. And many people who apply for unemployment aid are turned down and don’t actually receive checks.
The software company Toast, which works with the restaurant industry, last week cut half its workforce – or 1,300 people – citing a dizzying drop in restaurant sales. Yelp, the customer review site, cut 1,000 jobs. Groupon, the online discount company, shed 2,800.Some law firms have been forced to reduce their staffs. One victim was Fern Weinbaum, 68, who was furloughed last month from her job as a legal secretary at a small law firm in Manhattan.
In most states, self-employed, freelance and gig workers aren’t yet able to file applications for unemployment aid under new rules enacted by the federal government’s $2.2 trillion economic relief package.
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