White House official warns the public about summer unemployment

On Tuesday, April 28, one of President Donald Trump’s senior economic advisers, Kevin Hassett, informed CNN’s Poppy Harlow that he foresees a 16 to 20 per cent spike in unemployment by the start of June. This level of unemployment is equivalent to what people experienced during the Great Depression from 1929 to 1939.

Countries around the world haven’t known this level of unemployment since the spike of 1933, which went as high as 25 per cent. Current unemployment is at approximately 4.4 per cent. In the last two weeks of March alone, more than 25 million workers filed unemployment claims.

Although social distancing and stay-at-home orders have had a huge impact on unemployment, economists believe that re-opening the country in phases won’t stop the unemployment spike. Many businesses won’t be allowed to re-open in their states during the first phase of re-opening, and some business owners may choose to stay closed for health and safety reasons. Some workers will choose to wait for better news in regards to COVID-19 treatments before they agree to return to work. Economists also believe that many consumers will hold onto their money for emergencies.

Hassett emphasized that he didn’t believe that another Great Depression was about to occur, but that everyone needs to prepare for negative news. He also acknowledged that the economy will take another hit if a second wave of infections occurs in the fall.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/28/business/jobs-unemployment-coronavirus-hassett/index.html