Economic crises shine a
spotlight on a society’s inequities and hierarchies, as well as its commitment
to support those who are most vulnerable in such grievous moments. The calamity
created by Covid-19 is no exception. The economic fallout from that pandemic
has tested the nation’s social safety net as never before.
Between February and May
2020, the number of unemployed workers soared more than threefold — from 6.2
million to 20.5 million. The jobless rate spiked in a similar fashion from 3.8%
to 13.0%. In late March, weekly unemployment claims reached 6.9 million,
obliterating the previous record of 695,000, set in October 1982. Within three
months, the pandemic-produced slump proved far worse than the three-year Great
Recession of 2007-2009.
Things have since improved. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced in December that unemployment had fallen to 6.7%. Yet, that same month, weekly unemployment filings still reached a staggering 853,000 and though they fell to just under 800,000 last month, even that far surpassed the 1982 number.
