> the weekly new jobless claims sum of 1 million remained far above the 665,000 new claims filed at the pre-pandemic high in March 2009.
That really puts it into perspective
But most of these jobs are only temporarily gone.
And you know that because...?
Because net employment is down around 15M since the start of the pandemic, while there have been over 40M gross unemployment claims since March.
“These people should go to their second job, instead of burdening the government.”
“Or they should borrow money from friends and family first.”
- Some rich American politician
Just a data point: A lot of people I now are filing unemployment and working for cash or other part time jobs. Some people aren't even looking for jobs. Because of my bias, I personally don't take these numbers too seriously.