In the war film “Tora! Tora! Tora!” U.S. Navy Captain John Earle refused to act in defense of Pearl Harbor until he received confirmation of an attack even as American naval assets exploded all around him.
Over the past 14 weeks, 47.3 million people have experienced joblessness.
As such, some important policymakers appear to be waiting on confirmation that the U.S. economy needs further emergency aid even as jobless claims arrived above 1 million for the 14th straight week. Over that period, 47.3 million people have experienced joblessness, or roughly 30% of the pre-pandemic American workforce.
For the week ending June 20, 1.48 million people filed for first-time jobless claims, while 19.52 million filed continuing claims, the Labor Department reported on Thursday. Roughly 728,000 filed for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, bringing the weekly total filing for aid to 2.2 million.
That implies an insured unemployment rate of 13.4%. That also shows that we have observed 10 straight weeks of more than 2 million people filing for aid since the Pandemic Unemployment Insurance data become available during the week of April 17.
If one was looking for confirmation on whether further aid for the unemployed and the economy is necessary, it’s there in plain sight. Aid for those hurt by the pandemic expires on July 31, which because of those waiting on confirmation is setting up as the most significant fiscal cliff in American economic history.
For more information on how the coronavirus is affecting midsize businesses, please visit the RSM Coronavirus Resource Center.
