I was surprised at how low the increase in unemployment was until I found out the my state's online application system crashed over and over again in the past few weeks. I suspect next week may see another significant increase. We'll see.
50 million unemployed? Not yet, IMHO. But if this l[-]ock down[/-] shelter in place goes for more than 6 weeks, then all bets are off, IMHO. We need to start considering how we are going to flatten the unemployment curve so that we don't drive the entire economy into the dirt. Our elected representatives can start by asking the medical community what they will need so we can more safely restart the economy within the next month or two.
In the daily press conference right now, they're discussing the matter of the Ohio unemployment website crashing repeatedly. Part of the problem is too many people on the Internet at the same time. They're trying to increase capacity, but they probably can only do so much. The Lt. Gov. said that benefits will be retroactive. No one will be penalized for any delays in being able to file because of website issues.
The economic problems will start trickling up from the lower paid hourly workers to higher paid workers, even for workers in essential businesses. I read an article that said a particular health care system is cutting everyone's pay, including executives, by 20%!
The reasoning is that the elimination of elective surgeries is hurting their bottom line. Well, I'm sure that's true for now, but those health care workers who are risking their safety, especially with the shortage of PPE, don't deserve this.
An example that hits closer to home: This morning's daily coronavirus update email from DH's employer had some ominous tones to it for the first time. They've been writing that their OEM customers were closing for a number of weeks. Those customers still wanted product to be produced and shipped, as recently as 2 days ago. The aftermarket customers were operating as usual. Now DH's employer has written that all customers are setting dates to stop receiving new shipments. So, they're working to make sure that after the CARES Act passes and is signed into law, all affected employees can get whatever assistance is available. They're going to determine what labor actions are required by tomorrow. You can read between the lines. DH works in R&D, but I'm not convinced they're going to want to continue to keep the engineers and technicians working at full capacity through all this, with this recent news.