The REAL jobless rate under Trump Is a shocking 47%. Here’s why.

Woman holding a sign that says "I lost my job due to coronavirus"

Shutterstock

The unemployment figures are out — and the landscape is looking bleak. The unemployment-population ratio has dropped to 52.8%. This is the number of employed American adults as a percentage of the total population.

This means that a staggering 47.2% of people in the United States are jobless.

The coronavirus pandemic that swept through the nation was initially unchecked by the Trump administration. The subsequent lockdowns put in place to control the virus came with devastating economic consequences.

Unemployment figures are out — and it is not looking good

The employment-to-population ratio peaked in 2000 when 64.7% of all American adults had a job.

But from nearly three-quarters to roughly half, the figures have plunged in recent years—and they have collapsed thanks to Trump’s mishandling of COVID-19:

30 million jobs needed thanks to Trump

10 Jobs for Good 18

Shutterstock

Torsten Slock is Deutsche Bank’s chief economist. He believes “we need to create 30 million jobs” to get the employment figures back to the 2000 peak.

The unemployment-population ratio includes adults that are not in the labor force. It also considers Americans who feel hopeless about their prospects and see no point in searching for a job. This ratio is thus a more accurate reflection of the job climate than the unemployment rate, which only considers those Americans actively job-hunting.

Lockdowns caused a tsunami of job losses

How to get through the day quarantined at home during the Coronavirus 1

Unsplash / Joshua Rawson Harris

Dow Jones economists expect nonfarm payroll to have “increased by 3.15 million” over June. This prediction comes after the shocking spike of 3.5 million in May — the most significant increase in jobs ever in a single month which may be attributed to some states reopening after lockdown. However, some of those states, like Texas and Florida, are now backtracking.

According to Chris Rupkey, MUFG Union Bank’s chief financial economist:

Right now the economy’s recovery is being dragged down by the millions and millions of Americans without jobs and [who] simply haven’t got it. The massive job losses mean the economy isn’t out of the woods yet.

The gloomy forecasts are becoming a reality

Major storm set to bring tornadoes, damaging winds and flash flooding

Canva

Health experts warned of a second wave — if states reopened too soon. These grim warnings are becoming reality as the numbers of new cases of COVID-19 continue to increase.

Last week saw a surge in infections of COVID-19, with a record of 48,000 new cases on Tuesday alone.

Some economists believe that opening too soon and causing a new wave of the coronavirus could cause a depression. According to Mark Zandi, the chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, a financial intelligence provider:

“If we get a second wave, it will be a depression. We may not shut down again, but it will certainly scare people and spook people and weigh on the economy.”

Trump did too little, too late

Trump sitting at a table with his hands in the air

Screenshot / YouTube

Long before the first COVID-19 death in the United States, Donald Trump was warned of the virus. On multiple occasions, government officials, health experts, and advisors cautioned the President to act before it was too late.

Trump spent much of these critical early days on his Mar-o-Lago golf course.

HHS Secretary Alex Azar phoned the President on 30 January to warn him. Trump waited until March 13 to declare a national emergency. If these four men had acted sooner, 50,000 lives could have been saved, and the unemployment numbers might not look so grim.

Tyrannical tax cuts

‘Kentucky is the biggest moocher state in the country’ top expert explains

Pixabay

But the coronavirus isn’t the only thing that put us on this road. Another reason for the appalling employment figures is the tax “reform” bill.

President Trump promised that this bill would give American workers jobs and money. In reality, the winners were big corporations that benefited from the slashed tax rates. CEOs and company shareholders got richer, while the average employee wages dropped by 1.8 percent.

Trump’s Anti-American trade wars

Graphic depecting the trade war with China

Screenshot/YouTube

The biggest casualty of the China-American trade wars is America. Trump slapped $34 billion worth of tariffs on Chinese imports. China lashed back with similar tariffs on U.S. goods.

American consumers and blue-collar employees have suffered from the hike in prices and reduced demand.

Trump has threatened he is “ready to go to 500” [billion dollars] in his trade war against China. Meantime, the tariffs that the White House inflicted on Chinese imports have meant 300,000 fewer jobs were created.

The President has also imposed tariffs on Mexican, Canadian and European imports. With each lousy hand, Trump risks losing America’s place at the global trading table.

The tech sector is reeling from Trump’s immigrant ban

Screenshot/Fox News

Trump’s image is taking a hit. Firstly, the mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic, the resulting stock market spiraling, the global outrage over his response to the Black Lives Matter movement, and more. The election is only months away.

In a desperate bid to curry favor with his electorate, Trump announced a “temporary” ban on issuing immigrant visas on Monday. The measure was supposed to protect the nation against the spread of the coronavirus. Yet the President has on previous occasions called immigrants “animals” and “invaders.”

Historically, immigration is helpful to the economy. The ACLU explains:

A 1994 study of unemployment and immigration by Richard Vedder and Lowell Galloway of Ohio University spanning 100 years (from 1891 to 1991) found that higher rates of foreign-born population historically have corresponded to lower unemployment rates. The study found that immigrants expand total output and the demand for labor, tend to be highly productive and promote capital formation through high savings rates.

America is a nation of immigrants. Immigrants built the country, and the economy still depends heavily on the innovation, skilled labor, and tax revenue brought in by migrants.

Study after study has proven that immigration contributes to — not confiscates from — the economy. American immigrants or their families founded almost half of the top Fortune 500 companies.

Donald Trump is the son and grandson of immigrants. He married two immigrants.

Before he points fingers over the wrecked economy at his feet, perhaps he should look in a mirror?

You May Also Like:

*****
Back To Front Page