Fed Chairman expects peak in May or June.
The Department of Labor announced on Friday that claims for unemployment had risen to roughly 39 million Americans. These numbers are largely due to massive layoffs caused by stay-at-home orders across the nation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The report from the Department showed that jobless claims had slowed for the seventh week in a row, but still remained at a historically high total.
Several states have begun reopening over the past couple of weeks, but these reopenings have not currently lowered the number of people without work. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell stated that he expected that unemployment could keep growing until May or June at a total of 20%-25% of the total U.S. workforce. April’s unemployment had risen to 14.7% which is the highest since the Great Depression.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- That God would help the Labor Department collect accurate information.
- For the Federal Reserve to offer financial tools to aid the recovery from COVID-19
- For those who have lost their jobs during the pandemic to have their needs met by God.
Sources: AP, CNN, NPR
