Record 20.5 million American jobs lost in April. Unemployment rate soars to 14.7%

[SummerMadness]

Record 20.5 million American jobs lost in April. Unemployment rate soars to 14.7%

With much of the American economy in self-imposed shutdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus, April's colossal surge in unemployment delivered a historic blow to workers.

The US economy lost 20.5 million jobs in April, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday — by far the most sudden and largest decline since the government began tracking the data in 1939.

Those losses follow steep cutbacks in March as well, when employers slashed 870,000 jobs. Those two months amount to layoffs so severe, they more than double the 8.7 million jobs lost during the financial crisis.

 

[nonaeroterraqueous]

It's a steeper rate of job loss than the Great Depression. I wonder how fast it can turn around, because at this rate it looks like it might beat the Great Depression.

 

[mark46]

It's a steeper rate of job loss than the Great Depression. I wonder how fast it can turn around, because at this rate it looks like it might beat the Great Depression.

This month it will be much worse.

In many types of jobs, there will eb an immediate turnaround, perhaps for not all employees. For example, if an auto plant reopens, lots of folks go back to work.

I think that the key is the unemployment was forced, so that much employment will immediately come back.

HOWEVER, all the jobs will not come back for all industries. We should see reduction in hotels, airlines, sports and cruise ships for a long time. So, I expect to see about 10% unemployment at the time of the election, although it could be worse if there is a second wave of COVID 19 and a second shutdown.

 

[nonaeroterraqueous]

HOWEVER, all the jobs will not come back for all industries. We should see reduction in hotels, airlines, sports and cruise ships for a long time.

Yeah, I was thinking of that, but I also wondered:

1. How much of a delay there will be, either between the actual job loss and the reported job loss, or between the reversal of the cause (lock-downs) and the reversal of the effect (unemployment).
2. How much the unemployment self-perpetuates. The mindset of the consumers has changed, and they will spend their money differently. If more people don't have money to spend, then it's less money available for others to earn.

 

[loveofourlord]

the thing I wonder the most is, how much of it would have been stopped by not having the shutdown. I lean towards not many, because alot of the non esential jobs are the kind of jobs people won't go to during a pandemic. Were seeing a resurgence of people returning now, but thats because their areas havn't been hit hard, if we had new york levels of the pandemic states wide would it have been fine, or would everything shut down anyway, or people be too scared to go out.

 

[nonaeroterraqueous]

...or people be too scared to go out.

The government response added to the fear. In my area I'm not getting the impression they're particularly worried.

 

[Mountainmanbob]

Record 20.5 million American jobs lost in April. Unemployment rate soars to 14.7%

Thanks China.
M

 

[loveofourlord]

The government response added to the fear. In my area I'm not getting the impression they're particularly worried.

How many areas arn't scared because they arn't having mass deaths and sickness like new york, which would certainly have happened without the shutdown.

 

[Allandavid]

Thanks China.
M

Hmmm....who was the Chinese person that brought the virus to your shores...?

 

[Mountainmanbob]

Hmmm....who was the Chinese person that brought the virus to your shores...?

It's good to keep up with the (known) facts
that's for sure.

Disaster in motion: Where flights from coronavirus-ravaged countries landed in US

 

[Allandavid]

It's good to keep up with the (known) facts
that's for sure.

Disaster in motion: Where flights from coronavirus-ravaged countries landed in US

Love it when you can throw people’s sources back at ‘em...


“The flights from China weren’t the only ones coming from airports in international hotspots for the COVID-19 outbreak. ABC News also analyzed thousands more flights during the period from Italy and Spain, which had the highest numbers of cases outside the U.S. by the end of March.

From December through March 30, 353,000 foreign nationals and Americans entered the U.S. from Italy. Another 456,547 came from Spain.”

So, I’ll repeat Bob.....who was the CHINESE person who brought the virus to your shores...?

 

[Mountainmanbob]

So, I’ll repeat Bob.....who was the CHINESE person who brought the virus to your shores...?

Chinese government.

 

[Allandavid]

Chinese government.

No Bob, you lose...

And the question you should be asking is ....why is it that the US unemployment has soared so much more quickly than most other nations during this crisis? Who’s minding the store...?

 

[Mountainmanbob]

No Bob, you lose...

And the question you should be asking is ....why is it that the US unemployment has soared so much more quickly than most other nations during this crisis? Who’s minding the store...?

Guess you're not sure where it came from?
Or how it got here?
Maybe suba divers?
M

 

[Allandavid]

Guess you're not sure where it came from?
Or how it got here?
Maybe suba divers?
M

And neither are you, that’s my point....could have been from any number of countries who were flying into the US at that time.

 

[Allandavid]

Now back to the thread....who’s minding the store Bob...?

 

[Kentonio]

How many areas arn't scared because they arn't having mass deaths and sickness like new york, which would certainly have happened without the shutdown.

Yes, yet again it’s a situation where the solution makes people feel like there was never a problem in the first place. Same mentality as Y2K sadly.

 

[mark46]

Yes, yet again it’s a situation where the solution makes people feel like there was never a problem in the first place. Same mentality as Y2K sadly.

And neither are you, that’s my point....could have been from any number of countries who were flying into the US at that time.

There were clearly multiple sources in January and February. The data will come in, but it seems clear that WA, CA, ILL and NY were all infected before the president initiated his closedowns of air traffic. It was clearly a strange approach to believe that this travel restrictions could keep out the virus (but, yes the restrictions were a good idea, even they were taken after 40 other countries did so).

What caused so many death was the unwillingness to listen to scientists and secure PED's and testing equipment. I would not how relatively low the numbers have been in CA and WA, after the initiated reasonable plans. They would have done even better with more access to PED's and testing equipment.
======
But, we will see if it works to implement a strategy of ending of restrictions when the numbers are going up, which is the case outside of the coasts and MT an WY (and maybe a couple of others). The WH forecaster in WA have already changed its death estimates up from the 62K that was the estimate when stay at home restrictions were in place in almost all states.