No industry has been left untouched by the COVID-19 job losses, even industries that were once considered safe.
The Washington Post has taken an in-depth look at how the job losses and furloughs spread across the country. WorkingNation President Jane Oates served in the Labor Department during the Great Recession and offers up this assessment of the difference between now and then in the article.
“Jane Oates, president of the employment-focused nonprofit organization WorkingNation, used to oversee the Labor Department wing that coordinates unemployment claims and training. ‘The big difference between coronavirus and the Great Recession is that this has completely stopped the economy across so many sectors,’ she said.
During the Great Recession, she and her team had the luxury of flooding support into areas that were being hit hardest in a particular week or month. They went from state to state and industry to industry, putting out fires as they arose.”
The Washington Post updated the story with new numbers and included the report in its print edition on Sunday, May 10, 2020. You can read it here: Washington Post – Crisis hits jobs once deemed safe.