Private sector employees are enduring the worst of job cuts resulting from the coronavirus outbreak as a record 3.5 million Americans are expected to file for unemployment this week and predictions say tens of millions more could be laid off.
More than quarter of Americans say they have lost wages and about 16 per cent already have been furloughed or laid off, according to a Grinnell College poll released Wednesday.
The survey polled 1,009 adults from March 27 to 30 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
Retailers including Macy's, the Gap, JCPenney, and Neiman Marcus, as well as mall owner Simon Properties, among others from the private sector are enacting furloughs because of the outbreak.
Companies like iHeart Media representing 800 stations, outdoor recreational craft maker Polaris, hospital operators and large law firms also are sending employees home.
Meanwhile, government employees, including in the Transportation Security Administration, or TSA, have remained employed full time, amid slow downs in work.I’m just hanging out with my friends at this point,’ a TSA worker at Los Angeles International Airport tells Vox.
Jasmine, who is a 21-year old TSA agent at LAX, says that for the first time ever, her job is easy, with airlines operating significantly fewer flights and many of the airports businesses shut down because of the deadly flu-like infection, also known as COVID-19.
The TSA, meanwhile, continues operating under the Department of Homeland Security, an arm of the federal government, while other airport services, including restaurants, bars and retails shops have been shuttered because of the virus. Southwest Airlines airplanes, for example, are flying at about 20 per cent full, which means Jasmine and other TSA workers no longer have long security lines to contend with at LAX.
As no one working security has been laid off, TSAs no longer face thousands of passengers squeezing through airport checkpoints.
'Things have been really slow for about two weeks now,' Jasmine confesses.
'Our numbers have just been slowly decreasing. It’s super weird because we’re so used to constant rush. Now it’s literally, like, 10 people an hour, it’s crazy.'
The fallout from the deadly virus on jobs
There have been close to 190,000 confirmed cases in the US of the coronavirus, which has been blamed for more than 4,000 deaths.
The crisis has caused private payrolls to drop for the first time since 2017, likely as businesses shut down in compliance with strict measures by authorities to contain the global pandemic, supporting economists' views that the longest employment boom in history ended in March.The ADP National Employment Report on Wednesday showed private payrolls fell by 27,000 jobs last month, the first decline since September 2017, after advancing by an unrevised 183,000 in February.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast private payrolls falling by 150,000 jobs in March.It was a smaller-than-expected decline because establishments were surveyed in mid-March, before many states and local governments ordered residents to stay at home unless on essential business.
Restaurants, bars and other social-gathering venues also were shuttered to slow the spread of COVID-19.
The total number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits is being forecast to set a record for the second straight week following last week’s record 3.28, with the darkest prediction expecting the figure to almost double.
The next release of unemployment data tomorrow will report for the week ending March 28, according to Bloomberg, and is now considered a more timely barometer than Tuesday’s payrolls report.
The unemployment data should show how the virus and the sudden economic measures implemented to slow and contain outbreak have impacted the labor market.
The median projection from economists who were surveyed by Bloomberg puts the figure at 3.5 million, slightly above last week’s reading of 3.28 million, which was already more than quadruple the previous record.
Wells Fargo economist Sam Bullard wrote in a note that the upcoming unemployment claims report ‘will likely reflect both newly laid-off workers as well as states catching up on previously filed claims that had not yet been captured in the system due to overwhelming demand.'
Bullard did not have his own projection for Thursday’s figure.
With several states ordering the closure of nonessential businesses and President Donald Trump extending social-distancing restrictions through April 30, has delivered a significant blow to retailers who still depend heavily on brick and mortar locations for their bottom line.
Macy's, which operates stores under its namesake, as well as Bloomingdale's and BlueMercury stores, announced that most of its 125,000 employees are to be furloughed this week.
The employees sent home will continue to have their health benefits, the company says.
Hourly store employees at J.C. Penney are to be sent home Thursday by the once-storied retailer, which employs 95,000 'associates' worldwide.
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Employment