United States Federal Reserve analysts said the unemployment rate may soar past 32 percent and the coronavirus freeze on the economy could cost 47 million Americans their jobs.
Economists at the Federal Reserve's St. Louis district estimated Monday that the coronavirus impact on the economy may lead to 47 million jobs lost, pushing the nationwide total to 52.8 million people when the estimated 5 million already without work are included. This would push the U.S. unemployment rate to 32.1 percent, which is significantly higher than the 24.9 percent rate of unemployment last marked during the worst stretch of the 1930s Great Depression, Forbes noted.
Last week, a record number of Americans filed for unemployment benefits, 3.28 million - more than quadruple the previous record of 695,000 set in 1982. But the Fed analysis shows the worst of the novel coronavirus' negative effects on the U.S. economy are yet to come.
The Fed's latest projection of a potential 32.1 percent unemployment rate is slightly worse than the estimate St. Louis Fed President James Bullard released last week of 30 percent. Both sets of data factored in the most at-risk jobs as a result of the government-induced economic freeze across the country which seeks to curb the coronavirus pandemic.
The Fed analysis released Monday encouraged Americans not to stop looking for work and did not factor in any effects of the $2 trillion federal government stimulus passed last week. Previous Fed research showed that 66.8 million workers were in "occupations with high risk of layoff."
https://www.newsweek.com/47-million-...s-says-1495139
Economists at the Federal Reserve's St. Louis district estimated Monday that the coronavirus impact on the economy may lead to 47 million jobs lost, pushing the nationwide total to 52.8 million people when the estimated 5 million already without work are included. This would push the U.S. unemployment rate to 32.1 percent, which is significantly higher than the 24.9 percent rate of unemployment last marked during the worst stretch of the 1930s Great Depression, Forbes noted.
Last week, a record number of Americans filed for unemployment benefits, 3.28 million - more than quadruple the previous record of 695,000 set in 1982. But the Fed analysis shows the worst of the novel coronavirus' negative effects on the U.S. economy are yet to come.
The Fed's latest projection of a potential 32.1 percent unemployment rate is slightly worse than the estimate St. Louis Fed President James Bullard released last week of 30 percent. Both sets of data factored in the most at-risk jobs as a result of the government-induced economic freeze across the country which seeks to curb the coronavirus pandemic.
The Fed analysis released Monday encouraged Americans not to stop looking for work and did not factor in any effects of the $2 trillion federal government stimulus passed last week. Previous Fed research showed that 66.8 million workers were in "occupations with high risk of layoff."
https://www.newsweek.com/47-million-...s-says-1495139
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