The numbers: The latest round of coronavirus-induced layoffs and furloughs soared by another 6.6 million in the first week of April, bringing total job losses in less than a month to 16.8 million.
Nor is the damage about to let up. New jobless claims are expected to continue to climb with so much of the economy shut down and the full resumption of normal activity months away. What’s more, new claims in the last week of March were revised up by 219,000 to a record 6.87 million, the Labor Department said Thursday.
The coronavirus has turned life upside down in the blink of an eye. Just a month ago, new claims were in the low 200,000s and sat near a half-century low.
Recovery will be slow so act accordingly.
Fed actions have certainly helped the stock market. I wonder how these people are faring.