New Report On The Jobs Impact Of Covid-19 And Unemployment Insurance
Photo by Matias Campa.
James Parrott, director of economic and fiscal policies for the Center for New York City Affairs at The New School, partnered with The Century Foundation and its Senior Fellow Andrew Stettner on a new report released yesterday projecting up to 15 million U.S. lost jobs as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, and estimating the value of a key provision in the new Senate stimulus bill regarding unemployment insurance benefits.
The unprecedented job closings mandated for urgent public health reasons because of the coronavirus outbreak have hit hard at several service industries employing millions of predominantly low-paid workers in large cities. The leisure and hospitality, transportation, and retail trade sectors have borne the brunt of this impact, accounting for about two-thirds of the up to 15 million jobs already or soon-to-be lost. The report provides estimates by sector, and by state, showing the concentration of job loss in heavily urbanized states like New York, California, Florida, New Jersey, and Nevada.
Not all unemployed workers are eligible for unemployment insurance benefits. The report estimates that nearly two-thirds of those who will be displaced by the pandemic are likely to receive unemployment insurance and concludes that almost 800,000 workers in New York State would be added to the unemployment insurance rolls in coming weeks. A key provision of the new stimulus package – the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act that passed the Senate on March 25 with unanimous support – will provide a $600 weekly supplement to all workers receiving regular unemployment insurance for up to four months. This will mean an estimated $9.3 billion in benefits for New York State’s unemployed workers through the end of July.
Another critically important provision establishes Pandemic Unemployment Assistance that will provide benefits to workers losing work as a result of the pandemic but who aren’t eligible for regular unemployment insurance benefits. This includes the self-employed, independent contractors, and those who are unable or unavailable to work for reasons such as having to provide care for a child who can’t attend school due to Covid-19.