30 million in 6 weeks: quarantine unemployment in the US continues to break records

For the week ending April 23, 3,84 million Americans filed new jobless claims. CBS News.

Photo: Shutterstock

Thus, the total number of American residents who have lost their jobs over the past six weeks has reached 30 million, which is a record for the fastest job loss in the country.

“If we compare it with the previous week, we received fewer applications. However, this number exceeds the previous (pre-quarantine) record by five times! Objectively, this is a terrible statistic,” says Nick Banker, head of recruitment company Indeed Hiring Lab.

During the week ending April 23, Florida saw the most new jobless workers, with 326 people filing for benefits.

“The number of applications for unemployment benefits continues to decrease, but remains at levels that seemed unimaginable before the coronavirus pandemic! In the last week, this number has exceeded all expectations,” said Gregory Daco, chief economist at Oxford Economics.

The real number of people unemployed is much higher than official statistics, as many are not eligible for unemployment benefits or have not applied for them for other reasons.

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According to the data obtained as a result of a survey by the Institute for Economic Policy, for every 10 people who have submitted an application, 5-7 are those who could not register it or who are still shocked by the situation and are not ready to act.

“Millions of new unemployed people will find themselves without benefits as the unemployment system is overwhelmed,” write Ben Zipperer and Alice Gould, EPI experts.

In almost all sectors there is a closure of enterprises that do not have strategic importance for the country. Workers were sent home, and it is not known when this forced rest will end. Although in some states governors have already allowed companies to quarantine, it will take months, if not years, to resume full-fledged work.

From January to March 2020, the US economy contracted by almost 5%. This is a record drop in GDP since October 2009, during the global financial crisis. And experts are convinced that the current situation is just the tip of the iceberg. GDP is expected to contract by 2020% year-on-year in the second quarter of 40, with a major impact on business.

According to economists, in April the unemployment rate in the United States will be about 20%. If this happens, it will be the second record in US history after the unemployment rate of 25% recorded during the Great Depression.

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