According to the Department of Labor, about 26 million have lost their jobs and sought unemployment since the coronavirus pandemic hit the U.S. But a new survey by the Economic Policy Institute indicates that the true number of Americans who have lost their jobs in the last five weeks is likely much higher.
The Denver Channel
April 30, 2020
The unemployment figures, as bad as they are, are actually a significant underestimate of the problem, according to a new study by the non-partisan D.C. think tank, the Economic Policy Institute. Their survey of over 24,000 Americans found that, for every ten people who successfully filed for unemployment benefits in the last four weeks, three to four additional people attempted to apply but were unable to navigate the system to make a claim. Two additional people did not even try because of the complicated application process. Thus, they conclude, “When we extrapolate our survey findings to the full five weeks of UI (unemployment insurance) claims since March 15, we estimate that 8.9‒13.9 million [more] people could have filed for benefits had the process been easier.”
MPN News
April 30, 2020
Small local restaurants that operate without much of a cushion to begin with will be among the casualties of the coronavirus, says Elise Gould, senior economist with the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C.
“Many of these businesses have already closed because they were so specialized and couldn’t shift to something else,” she said.
Nasdaq
April 30, 2020
Not enough aid has been targeted to working people in the four coronavirus relief bills totaling $2.7 trillion so far, says the Economic Policy Institute. It calls for unemployment benefits to be expanded to new workers, including young people finishing high school and college students, as well as undocumented workers. It says the beefed-up benefits should continue well beyond July 31 or any other arbitrary cut-off date, citing projections that the jobless rate could average 16% in the third quarter.
Sacramento News & Review
April 30, 2020
Although economists can track layoffs via new unemployment claims, tracking the uninsured in real time is trickier, as each worker can carry insurance for multiple family members, and some are able to shift to other sources of coverage. An analysis by the Economic Policy Institute estimated that 9.2 million workers were at risk of losing their health insurance coverage.
California Healthline
April 30, 2020
If anything, according to many economists, the job losses may be far worse than government figures indicate. A study by the Economic Policy Institute found that roughly 50 percent more people than counted as filing claims in a recent four-week period may have qualified for benefits but were stymied in applying or didn’t even try because they found the process too formidable.
“The problem is even bigger than the data suggest,” said Elise Gould, a senior economist with the institute, a left-leaning research group. “We’re undercounting the economic pain.”
The New York Times
April 30, 2020
As businesses scramble to stem massive losses amid the coronavirus pandemic, unemployment rolls are exploding. “The number of jobs lost in five weeks is roughly the equivalent of the working populations of 25 states,” the New York Times says. It’s also “over five times the worst five-week stretch of the Great Recession,” according to the Economic Policy Institute. One analyst predicts that less than half of working-age Americans will be receiving wages in May.
Newsweek
April 30, 2020
A study by the Economic Policy Institute found that roughly 50 percent more people than counted as filing claims in a recent four-week period may have qualified for benefits but were stymied in applying or didn’t even try because the process was too formidable.
“The problem is even bigger than the data suggest,” said Elise Gould, a senior economist with the institute, a left-leaning research group. “We’re undercounting the economic pain.”
The New York Times
April 30, 2020