#coronavirus #COVD19 #FlattenTheCurve #JobLosses #women
During the recession of 2008, men were hit harder than women.
Most of the job losses were in manufacturing and construction.
Samantha Schmidt tackled this subject in an article for the Washington Post. It was also published May 17, 2020, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
That same edition of the Atlanta paper also carried a story that said many of the so-called temporary layoffs could become permanent.
Schmidt writes that 70 percent of those laid off in the 2008 recession were men.
This pandemic has forced the layoffs mainly of restaurant servers, day-care workers, hairstylists, hotel housekeepers and dental hygienists – professions dominated by women, she writes.
“Women have never experienced an unemployment rate in the double digits since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began reporting data by gender in 1948, until now. At 16.2 percent, women’s unemployment in April was nearly three points higher than men’s,” Schmidt writes.
Her article also points out that women held some of the lowest-paying jobs – cashiers, hotel clerks, office receptionists, hospital technicians and teachers’ aides.
The pandemic wiped out job gains women had made over the past decade, just months after women reached the majority of the paid U.S. workforce for only the second time in American history, her article says.
Meanwhile, employers who early on expected to rehire all their workers once the pandemic crisis abated now would be lucky to hire back 75 percent, the other article says.
It tells the story of Britney Ruby Miller, co-owner of a small chain of steakhouse restaurants. Her quote: “I’m being realistic. Bringing back 75 percent of our staff would be incredible.”
Some large companies won’t have enough customers to justify bringing back all their employees. And, despite federal aid, some small businesses won’t survive at all, the second article says.
If you’re a laid-off employee, you’ve probably been looking for work in the companies that have continued to hire, like pizza delivery companies.
Indeed, job fairs are starting to be scheduled for companies looking to hire.
Other employees may have been looking at other ways to make a living. Actually, there are many vehicles out there that allow anyone, regardless of skills, experience or background, to supplement or even replace their working income. As a bonus, when necessary, the work can be done remotely from home.
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The main take-away from the two articles is that the pandemic may inflict permanent economic damage, particularly in the service sector.
If you can escape unscathed, or have only a temporary setback, consider yourself lucky. Remember, despite phased-in economic reopening, not everyone will feel comfortable venturing out. Many who do will do so in a restricted fashion.
The days of safe, large gatherings are still a long way away.
So this might be a great time to take stock of your future. How do you see it? Is the job you had even worth going back to? If not, the time to look at other options may be upon you.
Peter
Monthly Archives: May 2020
WHAT IS NORMAL? WHAT WILL NORMAL BECOME?
#coronavirus #COVID19 #FlattenTheCurve #TheNewNormal #normal
We all want to get back to normal.
But what IS normal, and what will it look like months from now, after adjustments to mitigate the coronavirus?
Gracie Bonds Staples, in her “This Life” column for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, tackled the subject in the May 7, 2020, edition.
“Indeed,” she writes, “a lot of us will return to what we were doing before the pandemic struck. Work.”
Yet, for others, she continues, “life will never be the same.” Some businesses will reopen, others will never reopen, she adds.
“Normal” differs by culture, nation, age and era, Staples quotes Usha Haley, the W. Frank Barton Distinguished Chair in International Business and a social scientist at Wichita State University in Kansas.
“There was a time when slavery was normal in the South,” Staples quotes Haley. “Our first president had slaves; but it’s rightfully considered abhorrent now, and we see it as our original sin,” she quotes Haley. “There was a time when women couldn’t vote, and, in several societies, they still can’t,” she adds.
Technology and immigration, among other factors, have accelerated change in our society, Staples writes.
“The idea of normalization never has meant much,” Staples quotes Haley. “ It’s much better to ask who is affected, who benefits, and who doesn’t. Everybody is not affected the same way. Normal isn’t what we should strive for. We should strive for a better society,” Staples quotes the professor.
No matter when it happens, “normal” will be different for most of us. Businesses and individuals have had to innovate during this time to find ways to do things while minimizing physical contact among people.
Undoubtedly, that will have corporate and other thinkers looking for ways to do things differently. Usually, that means analyzing how work got done during the paramedic, and determining whether it can get done the same way, or better, in the future.
When people stay home en masse, it means less traffic, less spending on necessities like gasoline etc., and those can be good things. But physical interaction with others cannot be eliminated entirely. How do two people have a date – a successful, pleasure-filled date – without getting near each other? Also, we all long to have group gatherings, parties, weddings etc., without worrying about keeping physical distance.
So what will your “normal” look like, presuming it won’t look the same as it did before. If you are concerned how you are going to make a living, know that there are many ways out there to do so without having a traditional job.
Though these programs involve work, and physical closeness might be preferred, they can be done remotely if necessary.
If you believe your economic future may be in peril, or you just don’t want to go back to what you were doing before, and have an open mind, you can check out one of the best of these vehicles by messaging me.
Meanwhile, “normal” WILL change, at least in the short term. Perhaps, in some cases, it will change forever. Instead of wishing for what was, embrace what will be – whatever that becomes. For the only thing certain in life, besides death and taxes, is change.
So, don’t just wish change away. Work for a better life, regardless of the new “normal” circumstances.
Peter
ECONOMIC PAIN COULD LAST A WHILE
#coronavirus #COVID19 #FlattenTheCurve #EconomicPain
Walter Isenberg has seen revenue at his hotel and restaurant group in Denver drop from $3 million a day to $40,000 a day.
“It’s just going to be a very long and slow recovery until such time as there is a therapeutic solution (to the coronavirus) or a vaccine,” Isenberg was quoted in an economic explainer published April 19, 2020, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Companies affected by the shutdowns say restarting the economy will not be easy, the article says.
Even after certain shuttered restaurants and other businesses reopen, as some have already, stay-at-home orders and other restrictions resulting from the pandemic have added a good bit of fear in consumers and workers. In short, people are afraid of getting really sick and dying, so, even as the businesses open – many with modifications to keep disease mitigation in place – some still will be afraid to venture out, the article says.
The employees of the businesses, too, will be, in many cases, afraid to go back to work even if they can get their jobs back. There’s a carrot-and-stick approach here: The carrot is regaining a paycheck. The stick is potentially losing jobless benefits, some of which pay more than their working salaries. Thus, employers, thus, have leverage in getting folks back to work sooner than they feel comfortable going back.
As for the fear among consumers and patrons of those businesses, while the businesses may reopen, they run the risk of no one coming in, out of fear.
“Returning to work will be gradual” and phased in, the article quotes Suzanne Clark, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “It’s going to be the opposite of a green light. It’s going to go from red to yellow and then green,” she said.
A few other stats quoted in the article:
• A National Bureau of Economic Research working paper, by economists from Northwestern, Stanford, the University of Chicago and Boston University predicts that the economy will shrink 11 percent at year’s end from the same period the year before. That would be the sharpest contraction since 1946.
• Many economists warn that rushing back to normal life without the safeguards needed to prevent a second wave of outbreak could worsen the economic damage further.
• A survey by Seton Hall University found that seven in 10 Americans would not feel comfortable attending a sporting event until a vaccine for the virus was developed.
• Polling by the Sports and Leisure Research Group Engagious and ROKK Solutions finds that only about a third of Americans would fly, see a movie or go to a theme park, even if they were allowed.
To quote from the movie “Field of Dreams,” “if you build it they will come. “ Relating to this situation, if you open, will they come?
If you find yourself fearful to go back to the job you had, and are looking for different ways to make money, even if you don’t want to leave your home, there are many vehicles out there that can allow you to do that. To learn about one of the best, message me.
Officials have said recently that we cannot flip a switch and have the economy roar again immediately. It will be a long, slow process that will not be without economic casualties – companies going out of business, companies not rehiring all the workers they had prior to the pandemic, among others.
You’d be wise to prepare for all eventualities. You’d be wise to develop an economic Plan B, should the worst befall you.
Peter
AIR POLLUTION MAKES THE CORONAVIRUS WORSE
#coronavirus #COVID19 #FlattenTheCurve #AirPollution
Air pollution makes the novel coronavirus more lethal.
So says a study by Harvard University.
Long-term exposure to polluted air makes the virus more deadly because pollution worsens complications of respiratory illness, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution quotes the study. The newspaper published an explainer on this April 18, 2020.
But here’s the irony: because the virus has kept many people in their homes, thereby minimizing human activity, many cities around the world are reporting cleaner air, the article says. By not driving much, and with businesses not churning as much pollution into the air, one can actually see mountains in the distance from some cityscapes that were clouded with smog prior to the outbreak.
U.S. Environmental Protection chief Andrew R. Wheeler said the agency would not tighten controls on particle pollution, known as PM2.5, because of insufficient scientific evidence, the article says. The PM2.5 standards were enacted in 2012.
In fact, the article says, PM2.5 – small lung-damaging particles generated by power plants, cars, airplanes and burning – levels have dropped by 39 percent between 2000 and 2018. However, data has shown an uptick in some regions since 2016, according to the article.
Americans now see less pollution and have gained 1.5 years of life expectancy since 1970, the article says.
This information puts our lives into perspective. We need economic activity to live. But economic activity means pollution. It’s up to us as humans to try to maximize – we can’t really eliminate all pollution – our air quality.
This viral outbreak has taught us a lot about how to do things differently. Something as simple as minimizing trips to the grocery store can put savings back in our pocket, and minimize the particles we put into the air.
Though it would be impractical over time to live lives secluded at home, perhaps this stay-at-home life can teach us to value things we had put little value on before.
Meanwhile, stay-at-home orders also mean no income coming in for many people. What if you could make money by staying home? There are many vehicles out there that allow you to use technology to help you generate income while you, and everyone else, is staying home. To learn about one of the best such vehicles, message me.
As progress is made on alternative energy sources, we will see less pollution over time.
Decades ago, the hum of engines and factory machines meant industrial progress. They were the sounds of money being made.
As we continued to make progress, we, in turn, made our air quality worse. As we look forward to a cleaner, perhaps quieter, world, it will mean some jobs could disappear.
If you are among those for whom the sound of internal combustion engines or factory machinery means money, you may eventually have to rethink how you earn a living.
Peter