SFY - Consumer Sentiment Collapses Amid Massive Job Loss
By Robert Hughes
Initial claims for unemployment insurance totaled 6.61 million for the week ending April 4, marking the third consecutive week of massive, record-shattering layoffs, and dwarfing the previous high of 695,000 in October 1982 (see top chart). During the Great Recession in 2008-09, total job losses were 8.8 million over 25 months, versus the current 3-week total of 16.8 million initial claims. The unprecedented flood in claims is likely just the first wave in a tsunami of negative economic statistics that will reflect the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and drastic policy reactions