Mass unemployment
The U.S. economy could be a rough ride in the coming months.
According to a press release from the U.S. Department of Labor, the number of unemployed in the country claiming the Pandemic Emergency Unclumation Compensation (PEUC) program is growing exponentially.
The program, which falls under the CARES Act, supports unemployed Americans who have been using state benefits for 26 weeks. Claims grew from just 27,000 people on April 11 to 1.3 million by August 1, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Historic Highs
Last week, the Department of Labor reported that 1.1 million workers filed new claims for state unemployment, an increase of nearly 130,000 compared to the previous week.
“We are still at a historically high level of claims,” said Scott Anderson, chief economist at Bank of the West The New York Times. “The job market is in the ICU.”
The Tsunami
Economists are worried that these are tough times. “The real tsunami is coming,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics Axios. “My judgment is that at this point the hiring of the sectors that have been hit hard has been reduced.”
Experts predict that the economy will slow down even more by the end of the year. Without some fiscal stimulus, the expectation of unemployment could last for quite some time.
“I think the labor market here is starting to weaken again, especially if Congress and the administration do not get it together and pass on more support,” Zandi added.
READ MORE: Economists predict an unemployment “tsunami” to come [Axios]
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