US unemployment bad news for Aussie job seekers

It’s hard to put a gloss on what is happening to the global economy. The rising number of unemployed in America is staggering and not seen since the Great Depression. Republic Resumes will continue to get candidates short-listed for jobs, whether they are work-from-home jobs, casual or part time positions. We’ll never give up.

Unemployment in the US is set to surge to its highest rate since the Great Depression. The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits in the week ending March 28 doubled to almost 7 million, with economists warning that up to 20 million jobs could be lost across the country as lockdowns bite.

Wall Street analysts predicted that unemployment will hit 16 per cent within months and may go as high as 20 per cent, rates not seen since the Great Depression.

That is very bad news for the Australian employment market, which is expected to have more than 2 million people unemployed by the end of June.

While people hope the lockdowns end in June, it will take another year to 18 months before a vaccine is developed and possibly another 12 months before it can be distributed.

This means the Australian job market will remain crippled for at least 12 months or more.

More than four-fifths of Americans are in lockdown as the number of coronavirus cases in the US leapfrogs all other countries. American economists have hastily revised their forecasts for unemployment, after the shocking second week of jobless applications suggested many have been too optimistic.

The jump in unemployment claims suggests the rate of unemployment has already surpassed the financial crisis peak at above 10 per cent.

Many countries such as Australia, are paying a proportion of furloughed workers’ wages to save jobs, but the Trump administration has instead opted to beef up unemployment benefits.

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