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From the White House: a Bleak Picture for the Unemployed

Digging a bit deeper into the annual White House economic report, released yesterday, there’s this statement about the enormity of the nation’s jobs crisis.

Jul 31, 2020
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Digging a bit deeper into the annual White House economic report, released yesterday, there’s this statementabout the enormity of the nation’s jobs crisis. “[E]ven a quick return to job growth will not immediately eliminate employment problems, as it will take time to create the millions of new jobs needed to return to normal employment levels.”
That part we knew. Job creation has been the lagging indicatorin recessions stretching back two decades, and, as the Labor Department reported recently, the economy has shed 8.4 million jobs since this recession began 25 months ago.
“This is an enormous hole we’re in,” Chad Stone, senior economist at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, said recently.
But the White House also offers this warning about the likely consequences of the long-term unemployment problem — an assessment rare in Washington for its brutal honesty.
Many workers will have difficulty finding work for some time to come. Extended periods of high unemployment and low job creation rates mean that many displaced workers will exhaust their unemployment insurance benefits before jobs become available in large numbers. After months or even years of unemployment, most who exhaust their benefits will likely have used up whatever savings they had when they lost their jobs. Many will be forced to turn to public assistance—temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Supplemental Nutritional Assistance (formerly known as food stamps), or other similar programs—to make ends meet.
The message is clear: For millions of Americans, this thing will get worse before it gets better. And there’s only so much that Washington can do.
Dexter Cooke

Dexter Cooke

Reviewer
Dexter Cooke is an economist, marketing strategist, and orthopedic surgeon with over 20 years of experience crafting compelling narratives that resonate worldwide. He holds a Journalism degree from Columbia University, an Economics background from Yale University, and a medical degree with a postdoctoral fellowship in orthopedic medicine from the Medical University of South Carolina. Dexter’s insights into media, economics, and marketing shine through his prolific contributions to respected publications and advisory roles for influential organizations. As an orthopedic surgeon specializing in minimally invasive knee replacement surgery and laparoscopic procedures, Dexter prioritizes patient care above all. Outside his professional pursuits, Dexter enjoys collecting vintage watches, studying ancient civilizations, learning about astronomy, and participating in charity runs.
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