How long before the millions of jobs lost during COVID-19 come back? What experts say
Jobs lost early in the COVID-19 pandemic are expected to come back — but it may take a while, experts say.
Financial research provider Moody’s Analytics said it could take four years to regain the 22 million jobs that went away in March and April, multiple news outlets reported this week.
“The jobs recovery from the pandemic will be much slower than that of GDP,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s, according to Business Insider.
Nationwide, workers have struggled with coronavirus-related layoffs and salary cuts. Many businesses, including restaurants and stores, were forced to close their doors in the spring to help slow the spread of the disease.
“The largest pandemic casualties have been less productive industries including retailing, leisure and hospitality, while the biggest winners have been in more productive industries like technology, wholesaling and professional services,” Zandi said in a note over the weekend, according to Forbes.
Many of the struggling industries have workers with lower incomes, and not having relief funds is expected to hit those low-wage earners hard, Goldman Sachs said, according to the media outlet.
The news comes as coronavirus cases and hospitalization rates are climbing across the United States, sparking concerns that new shutdowns could hurt the economy in the long run, experts say.
For now, government data show the unemployment rate for October was 6.9%, down from 14.7% in April.
This story was originally published December 2, 2020 at 2:38 PM with the headline "How long before the millions of jobs lost during COVID-19 come back? What experts say."
