The Help Wanted Sign

In the past year, COVID-19 has left everyone on the edge of their seats. From family to education to politics to the economy, COVID-19 has impacted all areas of our lives. In the landscape of our economy, unemployment plays a leading role in the show.

Unemployment is a key economic indicator. Without people there is no economy. People are the producers, the consumers, the investors and the basis for most of the ways the economy is measured.

The unemployment rate is complicated and there are many ways to measure it. It is interesting due to its surprising complexity in measuring the true rate of unemployment. At first thought, one could think that unemployment simply means a person without a job; however, to reduce as much gray area as possible, unemployment is measured in a few different ways. According to the chart below, the unemployment rate is measured by different stages that people are in during their unemployment. One thing that I find interesting about the different measurements is how, although they measure different groups, they all seem unified in the trajectory of unemployment.

Unemployment has a closer connection to people over other economic indicators. Even considering the Consumer Price Index as an indicator, the rate of unemployment would influence the CPI as well. With an unsteady income, unemployed people will be less likely to consume as much as people with a steady income.

During the peak of COVID-19, as the world went into lockdown, the unemployment rate skyrocketed and people were left without jobs and income. In order to combat the financial crisis that comes with a pandemic, the government gave out $2.59 trillion for financial relief. $438 billion was used for the Paycheck Protection Program and health care enhancement. While the $300 checks of government aid have helped in supporting those who became unemployed due to the pandemic, so long as the pandemic is a threat to health, people will stay away from work. According to Forbes, 4 million people are out of work because of fear and 6.8 million people are out of work because daycares are not in operation. With the pandemic, our eyes should be drawn to the state of our unemployment rate.