Economy

Coronavirus Causes Another Spike In U.S. Jobless Claims

A QU economics professor remains optimistic about how Connecticut might recover

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Before the business day got going Thursday, the federal government released a staggering figure.

A whopping 6.6 million Americans filed for unemployment for the first time last week.

That came after 3.3 million first time filers the week before, as the coronavirus continues its rapid spread in the United States.

CNBC reporting initial jobless claims, Thursday April 2, 2020

The financial markets seemed to have weathered the news well.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up more than 400 points.  The broader S&P 500 Index followed suit, also finishing up 2.2% for the day.

While Wall Street appeared to have absorbed this staggering figure, the hope is Main Street will as well.  

Zachary Cohle, an assistant teaching professor of economics at Quinnipiac University is optimistic the U.S. jobs and businesses impacted by coronavirus will rebound, because our economy was healthy before the outbreak.

“We have seen people lay off employees that didn’t have to because of the stimulus, so hopefully we’ll see some of these employees be absorbed back in," Cohle said.

And what about Connecticut specifically?  It was one of the last states to rebound from the last recession, some arguing it never fully recovered.

Downtown Stamford
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Stamford, CT has a number of financial services businesses that call the city home

“I think Connecticut will be okay in terms of recovery, we are heavily invested in financial services we have tourism that goes on, we have a lot of areas that are still existing, but are taking a hit right now, but can bounce back and recover," Cohle added.

The last time the U.S. Department of Labor published Connecticut’s unemployment rate, it was for February, when it sat at 3.8%.  That figure will likely be significantly higher for March.

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