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6.6 million newly unemployed. 10 million unemployed now since lockdowns began. Some thoughts: (1/ )
- During the Great Recession, unemployment reached 15 million. We aren& #39;t there yet but we& #39;ll get there. Note: With just 1/3 the stimulus compared w now, the US survived the Great Recession and boomed for 11 years until this virus.
Note: the unemployment rate before the Great Recession was 3 percent higher at 6.5%. That& #39;s 3.6 million less jobs in 2008 than last month. We had some buffer this time compared with the Great Recession.
- Unemployment benefits have been increased. The average person will get $1000 a week for TEN MONTHS. Many people will make more money unemployed than employed. This is not a permanent solution but will buffer as employment slowly comes back while the stimulus takes effect.
$350 BILLION in small business loans. You can get a loan to hit payroll for 2.5x months. There is incentive to not lay anyone off because the loan is forgiven. If you were a bar paying $100k a month but breaking even, you& #39;re going to get a loan THIS WEEK for $250k.
Trillions of dollars in taxes and student loans are being deferred during this crisis. Not to mention you can& #39;t get evicted if you don& #39;t pay rent or mortgage. This is a buffer that never existed before for unemployed.
As opposed to the Great Recession, many of the newly unemployed (we don& #39;t know how many) are furloughed, meaning there is a good chance they will go back to work (if they want) when economy reopens.
Not trying to be "positive". Just looking at all sides. It& #39;s horrible this has happened. Stimulus package is just a band-aid. But compared w Great Recession, we r in much better shape if economy reopens soon.
New stimulus rules also mean many self-employed or even part-time can file for unemployment. Never happened before. Means these numbers are juiced slightly compared with numbers in Great Recession.
