The unemployment rate in the United States reached 14.7% in April, while 20.5 million jobs were destroyed as a result of the coronavirus crisis. Widespread confinement has shifted the United States from full employment, with unemployment at 3.5% – the lowest in half a century -, to the worst situation recorded since the 1930s, when one in four Americans was unemployed. In one month, the number of unemployed increased by 15.9 million, to reach 23.1 million, out of an active population of 156 million. Add to that the 6.5 million Americans who left the workforce last month.
All affected sectors
According to the labor department which released the figures on Friday May 8, all sectors are affected. The disaster is terrible in the leisure and hotel and restaurant industries, which lost 7.7 million jobs, with the closure of Las Vegas and the parks of Orlando in Florida but especially of cafes and restaurants. Education and health have lost 2.5 million jobs, while all schools are closed and Americans no longer go to the doctor except in cases of force majeure. Retail trade fell 2.1 million, despite hiring from Amazon and Walmart.
The first bankruptcies have fallen, with those of the Neiman Marcus and J. Crew brands, while Gap and Macy’s are going to try to reopen their stores, hoping that consumers have not lost the taste for window shopping. These are the areas where the rebound will come when schools, restaurants and medical practices reopen. The employees left with the intention of returning: 88% of the dismissed indicated that they had been temporarily removed.
A return to normal excluded
However, social distancing measures exclude any return to normal. These employees are entitled to federal compensation of $ 2,400 per month, in addition to local assistance. Unemployment among people under 20, employed in odd jobs, exploded, going from 12 to 31%. Unemployment among African-Americans is the one that has increased the least (+10 points against 10.2 for whites and 12.9 for Hispanics). Over one year, wages increased by 7.9%, a sign that white-collar workers have managed to keep their jobs better thanks to telework. Employees of Facebook and Google are expected to work from home all year 2020.
In a service economy, the decline in the industry is "only" 1.3 million. It comes for 30% of the automobile, while the Detroit factories are due to reopen in May. The decline in public employment (one million) is due to local authorities: running out of tax revenue, they risk having great difficulty finding the pre-crisis workforce.
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