White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett says unemployment rate will approach Great Depression

[libertybele]

White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett says unemployment rate will approach Great Depression

White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett warned on Sunday that unemployment could hit levels not seen since the Great Depression as the economy contracts dramatically while businesses in most parts of the nation remain shuttered due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking to reporters on the White House lawn on Sunday morning, Hassett said the unemployment rate could hit 16% and “the next couple of months are going to be terrible” for economic data.

“We see an unemployment rate that approaches rates we saw during the Great Depression,” Hassett told ABC’s “This Week.” “During the Great Recession we lost 8.7 million jobs in the whole thing. Now we’re losing that many every 10 days, so the lift for economic policy makers is an extraordinary one.”

Hassett described the coronavirus shutdown as “the biggest negative shock that our economy I think has ever seen.”

President Donald Trump said earlier this week that in a phone call with Apple CEO Tim Cook, the tech leader said he expected a V-shaped recovery, meaning a quick rebound after a sharp fall. Hassett said on ABC that a V-shaped recovery will depend on the next response from the federal government.......

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/26/coronavirus-hassett-says-unemployment-will-approach-great-depression.html

[cato potatoe]

We're already there.  The labor force is around 163 million, and ~30 million have lost their jobs as of Friday.  At this pace, we will surpass the 1933 peak by May 15th. 

[libertybele]

We're already there.  The labor force is around 163 million, and ~30 million have lost their jobs as of Friday.  At this pace, we will surpass the 1933 peak by May 15th.

The realization of what has happened to our economy will start when states start to reopen and people attempt to go back to work only to find that their jobs are no longer available.  Things aren't going to be back to how they were.  Too many small businesses will close.  Too many industries were hit extremely hard - the airline industry for one and everything related; hotels, restaurants, rental cars, vacation homes, etc.  They are going to take a very long time to recover and won't be operating at full capacity due to "social distancing" practices that are still going to be mandated on these businesses.  They won't be able to bring back all their employees and those employees will remain unemployed and are going to have a difficult time finding work.

[mystery-ak]

White House adviser warns unemployment rate will quadruple and economy will contract most since Great Depression
by Jay Heflin
 | April 27, 2020 11:24 AM



White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett on Monday predicted that the unemployment rate for April would rise to the highest levels since the Great Depression.

“We’re going to see a number that is maybe 16% or 17%,” he told CNBC.

The Labor Department is scheduled to announce the unemployment rate on Friday.

Hassett also predicted that the economic contraction in the second quarter would be extreme.

“You’re looking at something like minus 20% to minus 30% in the second quarter,” Hassett said, adding that it will be “the biggest negative number that we’ve seen since the Great Depression.”

more
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/white-house-adviser-warns-unemployment-rate-will-quadruple-and-economy-will-contract-most-since-great-depression

[libertybele]

Please merge -- http://www.gopbriefingroom.com/index.php/topic,399778.0.html

[Cyber Liberty]

Topics merged.

[catfish1957]

Topics merged.

With a a dropping infection rate, knowledge that the disease is more ubiquitous and less lethal for the general population, and plans already in place for re-opening much of the country?  I think the doom and gloom '30's predictions are way over stated.

We obviously won't be at a pre-pandemeic robustness, but I am lot more optimistic that I was 2 weeks ago.

[mountaineer]

U.S. Steel expects to lay off 2,700 workers
Bloomberg News via Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
 Thursday, April 30, 2020 4:47 p.m.

One of the biggest U.S. steelmakers is signaling how the coronavirus pandemic is set to inflict pain on blue-collar America.

U.S. Steel Corp. expects to lay off about 2,700 employees as the virus forces the company to idle most of its blast furnaces. Even before lockdowns hit the economy, producers were facing slowing demand in the manufacturing sector. ...

“It’s all about minimizing or preserving cash in a difficult environment,” said Phil Gibbs, an analyst at KeyBanc Capital Markets. “They’re a heavy fixed-cost business, and volume right now is reasonably limited and they have to take actions.” ... Rest of story at Tribune Review