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33.5 Million Have Filed For Unemployment Since Coronavirus Hit
The new coronavirus’s devastation of the U.S. economy will become clearer Friday when April job losses are released — and it comes as the small businesses that employ those workers saw funding slashed for a loan program designed to help them ride out the pandemic.
First, the job losses that are piling up:
Another 3.2 million laid-off workers applied for unemployment benefits last week, a continued sign of the massive toll the new coronavirus has taken on the nation’s economy and its workers. This brings the total number of people who have filed for jobless aid in the last seven weeks to 33.5 million people.
The millions of job losses are a casualty of pandemic-related shutdowns and stay-at-home orders as the coronavirus has forced millions of companies to close their doors and slash their workforces. The result is a national unemployment rate not seen since the Great Depression.
Additionally, a recent survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center For Public Affairs Research shows that people of color have not only been hit harder by the coronavirus than Americans overall, but they’re also bearing the brunt of the pandemic’s financial imapct.
The poll found that 61 percent of Hispanic Americans say they’ve experienced some kind of household income loss due to the outbreak. That’s compared with 46 percent of Americans overall.
The Associated Press conducted survey also revealed that 37 percent of Latinos and 27 percent of black Americans are unable to pay at least one type of bill as result of the coronavirus outbreak.
Only 17 percent of white Americans say the same.
Americans remain hopeful, though.
The vast majority of laid-off or furloughed workers — 77 percent — expect to be rehired by their previous employer once the stay-at-home orders in their area are lifted, according to a nationwide Washington Post-Ipsos poll.
Nearly 6 in 10 also believe they are “very likely”to get their old job back.
On top of Thursday’s numbers, unemployment claims for the month of April will also be released Friday. With the majority of businesses still closed, economists have projected at least 21 million Americans lost their jobs during April, according to the Associated Press.
If so, it would mean that the unemployment rate would jump to at least 16 percent, from just 4.4 percent in March.
SBA Slashes Disaster Loan Limit, Shuts Out New Applicants
Small businesses across the nation may not get the financial relief they were hoping for as a Small Business Administration program, separate from the new Paycheck Protection Program, encounters challenges all its own.
Congress gave an emergency disaster lending program administered by the SBA more than $50 billion to dole out quick turnaround loans to small business impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
The program is failing spectacularly, sources told The Washington Post.
Businesses were supposed to be able to borrow up to $2 million; however, the SBA has now imposed a $150,000 limit without publicly announcing the change. The federal agency also shut down the application portal after receiving an onslaught of applications. Now, only agricultural businesses are allowed to apply.
The changes come as the SBA faces a massive backlog of applications from businesses taking a financial hit during the ongoing pandemic. Agency officials told the Post the holdup is also due to lack of funding.
Detailed CDC Advice On Reopening Buried: AP
A detailed document created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was intended to provide a step-by-step guide to states as they navigated the tricky waters of reopening amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Instead, the agency was reportedly told the 17-page document — which was supposed to be released last Friday — would “never see the light of day,” a CDC official told The Associated Press.
However, the White House has reportedly asked the CDC to revise the guidelines, after determining the advice it contained was “overly specific,” a coronavirus task force official told The Washington Post.
The report, titled “Guidance for Implementing the Opening Up America Again Framework,” was researched and written to help faith leaders, business owners, educators and state and local officials as they begin to reopen.
The guidance contained detailed advice for making site-specific decisions related to reopening schools, restaurants, summer camps, churches, day care centers and other institutions. It had been widely shared within the CDC and included detailed “decision trees, or flow charts to be used by local officials to think through different scenarios.
A person close to the White House’s coronavirus task force said officials have refrained from offering detailed guidance for how specific sectors should reopen because the virus is affecting various parts of the country differently.
Trump Valet Tests Positive For Virus
A personal valet for President Donald Trump has tested positive for the new coronavirus, heightening concerns about the president’s possible exposure to the virus.
The valet is a member of the U.S. military and part of an elite team that works closely with Trump and the first family. A White House source told CNN the man started showing symptoms Wednesday morning.
The valet is the second White House staffer to test positive for the virus. In March, an employee in Vice President Mike Pence’s office also tested positive.
“We were recently notified by the White House Medical Unit that a member of the United States Military, who works on the White House campus, has tested positive for Coronavirus,” deputy White House press secretary Hogan Gidley said in a statement. “The President and the Vice President have since tested negative for the virus and they remain in great health.”
Trump and Pence are regularly tested for the virus. The White House also administers rapid tests to people traveling with Trump or Pence or who meet with them in person, The Hill reported.
Schumer Promises ‘Big, Bold’ Action On Relief Package
As leaders in the Senate and House go back and forth and back again on the specifics of a possible new economic relief package, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Americans can expect a package he described as “Rooseveltian” in its scope and size.
“We need big, bold action,” Schumer said in an MSNBC interview, adding he and Pelosi “are working very closely together on putting together a very strong plan, which you will hear shortly.”
Schumer’s remarks were in response to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who earlier this week said it’s time to push “pause” on more aid, The Hill reported.
Schumer went on to compare McConnell and other GOP leaders to President Herbert Hoover, who predicted a rapid economic recovery in 1930. Instead, the Great Depression lasted until 1939.
Too Many Children Hungry As Crisis Wears On
Research released Wednesday by the Brookings Institution shows that food insecurity has increased dramatically in the United States since the the onset of the coronavirus crisis, especially for households with young children.
Nearly a fifth of American households of mothers with children under the age of 12 are not getting enough to eat, based on a national survey of mothers by the Brookings Institution.
The Brookings Institution found that 17.4 percent of mothers reported their children weren’t getting enough food, which is three times higher than the 5.7 percent reported during the 2008 Great Recession.
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From Across America
Dems Make Case For Role Of Government In Virus Response
Democrats say pandemic is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to show voters how government can play a positive role in the global response.
Pritzker Brags As Testing In Minority Enclaves Lags
KONKOL COLUMN: Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker claims he’s stepped up testing among Latinos, but that claim doesn’t match data or the testing site map.
Americans Wear Their Politics On Their Faces
Politicians of both parties are clued into the powerful symbolism of the mask, and many Americans take their cues from the president.
Florida Barbershop Defies Lockdown Order
A Florida barbershop in the epicenter of the state’s coronavirus outbreak defied a lockdown order and reopened for business.
Inside The Nursing Home With NY’s Most Coronavirus Deaths
The Parker Jewish Institute on the Queens-Nassau border has the most COVID-19 deaths of any nursing home in the state.
A 2-Family Food Drive
Two families with very young kids on Angela Drive came together, from afar, to hold a driveway food drive for the East Haven Food Pantry.
Beloved NY Station Agent Dies From Coronavirus
“He was the epitome of what a good man is,” friends said of the 175th Street station agent and father of three.
Sixth-Grader Spreads Cheer Through Signs
Meredith Rivkin isn’t letting staying at home due to the coronavirus thwart her studies for an upcoming bat mitzvah. Instead, the sixth-grader from Illinois is using the time to make a difference in the local community.
Teen Runs 24 Miles In 24 Hours For Virus Relief
“We can still all give back even though we’re staying home,” said 17-year-old Ryann Wiltsie of Connecticut.
How The Coronavirus Could Hinder Your Right To Vote
The elderly, infirm and others who fear contracting the new coronavirus could be forced to choose between their health and their vote.
College Senior Tries To Build Business During Pandemic
Cancer patients are among the most vulnerable, so despite losing spring semester, the Harrison resident will persevere.
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