Fact Checks

“Minority workers, teens and, in many cases, women, are losing jobs at a higher pace than other groups.”

This claim is made by a CNN Business article. The author of this article Chris Isidore states that the unemployment rates of this group is higher than others. An article by american progress and an article by US news also agree that unemployment for these groups are higher than the rest of the population.

“Coronavirus could lead to the highest unemployment levels since the great depression”.

An article written by Vox claimed that statement above and state that since the coronavirus hit we went from an all time low of 3.5% to 10% unemployment in only 4 weeks. The great depression was at 24% unemployment. This was also mentioned in a previously mentioned CNBC article supporting this claim and stating that 67 million jobs are at risk.

“Those groups’ jobs were at a greater risk going into this downturn.”

This is a claim made by an article by CNN Business. They interviewed an individual named Rogers who claimed that minorities and young workers are at higher risk of unemployment due to this coronavirus. This was also mentioned in an article written by CNN news of which agreed to this claim. They specifically talked about women having a larger chance of losing their jobs.

“Rogers estimates that the unemployment rate for women right now is lower than the overall unemployment rate, partly because women are well represented in the fields of nursing and primary and secondary education, which so far have been spared job cuts.”

This CNN business article claims the employment rate for women in these jobs is higher than others but in the coming months of the coronavirus pandemic, they will be the first ones to go. An NPR article agreed that women are losing more jobs during this coronavirus shutdown.

“That doesn’t even include the full impact of the nearly 10 million people who filed for jobless benefits in the last two weeks.”

On top of losing jobs the CNN business article claims the number of people filing for unemployment is much worse than those who have solely lost their jobs. According to the Washington post they agreed that as of March over 10 million Americans have applied for unemployment and both claim that this is only the beginning.

Analysis Essay

Coronavirus (COVID-19) is a very relevant problem at this moment in time; this pandemic has caused a temporary state of unusual behaviors. As many businesses are not unable to be open under this quarantine lifestyle, many have lost their jobs for one reason or another.  The perspective of someone who has lost their jobs is not commonly acknowledged or discussed during this chaotic time in history. Yes we talk about those on the frontline in the medical field, yes they are facing a very real issue facing COVID19. But this does not dismiss our inability to talk about those who are struggling in different ways: specifically those who have lost their jobs. The economy has taken an enormous hit. Most of the job losses are hitting minorities, women, and teens in particular (Isidore, 2020). They are at a higher risk of unemployment than others (Isidore, 2020). Minorities in the workforce are losing their jobs faster than other groups during this pandemic (Isidore, 2020). These groups of individuals are often in jobs such as hotels, food services, and retail. These also include temporary workers, custodial help and landscaping. Over half of the 61,000  job losses were of minorities.

Without jobs, many individuals are unable to support themselves and/or their families. This pandemic is turning the world upside down. Those whose jobs are lost are greatly affected and their lives are completely changed. They could lose their finances, homes, stability with food and daily life, and so much more. Many families are barely able to put food on the table. They could lose their homes due to the loss of income. They would not benefit from any part of the coronavirus job losses. Many with low incomes and fragile positions in society are only being knocked down more than others during this time. Their finances are more fragile and vulnerable to these immense changes in society than one with a higher income and more stable jobs previous to this pandemic. Many would be unable to pay bills, go into debt, lose homes, and even struggle feeding their families. Not only is the pandemic an issue while it is occurring, families with fragile incomes and jobs will come out the other side struggling more than those of stability.

Those who have lost their jobs value stability. They want to find new jobs but due to the pandemic they are unable to do so. An article even claims that “there is no doubt about it, they are getting hit worse” (Isidore, 2020). Specifically hotels, restaurants, and retail are getting hit harder than other businesses. Services within these businesses, such as custodial services, are losing their jobs. As of the March jobs report, “nearly 10 million people filed for jobless benefits in the last 2 weeks” (Isidore, 2020). The unemployment rate also increased from 3.5% to 4.4%. The unemployment rate for minorities included: 20.7% of african americans, 18.7% of Hispanic workers, and 26.7% for teens. This  is 6% higher than The unemployment numbers are significantly higher than before the pandemic occurred. Many workers losing their jobs were smaller jobs such as temporary seasonal workers, custodial help, and landscaping services totaling around 61,000 jobs by March. About half of the nonessential workers are minorities.

Many want stability both financially and of their lives. With those that have lost their jobs, especially minorities, they are not granted with an income and stability moving forward. Those who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic want jobs, an income and stability to pay for food, housing, and necessities. Many are unable to pay bills causing them to go into debt. All these individuals want is the ability to survive this pandemic without coming out the other side with financial problems and homeless. This article is intended to attract the general public by providing information about the job market, jobs being lost, and talked about whose jobs were being affected by this pandemic the most. This also applies to certain countries. Some economies rely on tourism and are therefore more at risk than others (Fernandez, 2020). Trade between countries also results in a similar negative outcome. Each are struggling in their own ways and due to different circumstances but in the end they are all struggling (Fernandez, 2020).

The most important part of this article is that it is conveying the amount of the immediate job losses due to the pandemic. It also focuses on how these early job losses are hitting minorities, women, and teens in particular. It is important to understand that the outcome of this pandemic and its job losses are having an impact on lives. Minorities are being hit harder than the rest of the community and need recognition and help to survive COVID-19.

Bibliography

1. Chris Isidore, CNN Business. (2020, April 4). Early coronavirus job losses hitting minorities, women, teens particularly hard. Retrieved April 18, 2020, from https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/04/economy/minority-job-losses-coronavirus/index.html

This is a news article from the cnn business website. This perspective shows the early coronavirus job loss in the United states. The purpose of this article is to portray the effect on the job market and those losing their jobs. The majority of jobs being lost are those who are minorities, women, and teens. As the economy continues to crash, businesses are unable to keep paying their employees. The government has begun something called the payroll protection program, part of the care act, to give money to businesses in order to continue paying their employees. This article will be my most useful article in providing information on the job market and the job losses within the job market.

2. Kelly, J. (2020, March 19). The Coronavirus Effect: Here Are The Jobs That Will Be Added And Lost. Retrieved April 21, 2020, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2020/03/19/the-coronavirus-effect-here-are-the-jobs-that-will-be-added-and-lost/#2d08a6f72a1c

This is an article written from a forbes article (a business website). It shows the perspective of the business side of the coronavirus and the need to lay people off. The coronavirus has changed the job market in both getting jobs and also losing one's job. Jobs and focus of jobs have been changing due to this virus. This pandemic has started to cause a dire need for new jobs in the medical field as jobs within non-essential businesses are losing jobs due to inability to pay for them. It provides a business perspective and talks about where the job market is moving towards.

3. Sahil Kapur and Josh Lederman. (2020, March 27). Coronavirus unemployment benefits. Here’s who qualifies and how much they get. Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/coronavirus-unemployment-benefits-here-s-who-qualifies-how-much-they-n1169846

This is a video/article published by nbc news. This is a video/article published by nbc news. To show the public how many people are being laid off due to the coronavirus and what the government is doing to help reduce the impact it is having on the people of this nation. Many people in the US are losing jobs due to the coronavirus. 3.2 million Americans are seeking unemployment because they have lost their jobs and income. The US prior to the coronavirus outbreak was at an all time low of unemployment and it was all of a sudden flipped upside down. A woman talks about how she has lost her job over a quick phone call and had no income. The government is determined to get money to people who have lost their jobs and attempt to help recover the economy. A woman who does hair said if she does not work she does not eat due to this outbreak.

4. Fernandes, N. (2020, March 22). Economic Effects of Coronavirus Outbreak (COVID-19) on the World Economy by Nuno Fernandes :: SSRN. Retrieved from https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3557504

This scholarly article provides expertise of the author's business. They use data published by other articles but this is in a format of a paper and/or paper. The thesis of the article is that it discussed the economic impact (including the impact on those losing jobs) due to covid19. The chapter relating to jobs and specifically the loss of jobs talks about the impacts of covid19 and how many people are losing their jobs. Many jobs are at risk and when those jobs are cut, many employees are unable to support themselves. 

5. Connor Maxwell and Danyelle Solomon. (2020a, April 14). The Economic Fallout of the Coronavirus for People of Color. Retrieved April 19, 2020, from https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/news/2020/04/14/483125/economic-fallout-coronavirus-people-color/

6. Andrew Soergel. (2020a, April 3). Virus Job Losses Hit Young, Minorities First. Retrieved from https://www.usnews.com/news/economy/articles/2020-04-03/young-and-minority-workers-feeling-first-effects-of-coronavirus-unemployment

7. Matthews, D. (2020, April 1). Coronavirus unemployment could become highest since the Great Depression. Retrieved from https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2020/4/1/21201700/coronavirus-covid-19-unemployment-rate

8. NPR Choice page. (2020, April 8). Retrieved April 19, 2020, from https://choice.npr.org/index.html?origin=https://www.npr.org/2020/04/08/829141182/women-are-losing-more-jobs-in-coronavirus-shutdowns

9. Heather Long. (2020c, April 2). Over 10 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits in March as economy collapsed. Retrieved April 19, 2020, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/gdpr-consent/?next_url=https%3a%2f%2fwww.washingtonpost.com%2fbusiness%2f2020%2f04%2f02%2fjobless-march-coronavirus%2f