The State of America’s Economy Due to Coronavirus

Since the start of the widespread coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in the United States (U.S.), economists have struggled to foresee the future condition of the country’s economy. According to the Boston Globe, a model predicting how the pandemic will affect the global market economy is currently unavailable, as few members of society today have experienced a pandemic of comparable virulence. Furthermore, restrictions such as stay-at-home orders, which call for residents to stay in their home except for people with essential tasks or work, have had impacts on employment rates, travel industries and businesses considered nonessential. 

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. unemployment claims have hit record highs, with over six million people filing for unemployment. This employment report also showed that the country is experiencing the greatest decline in overall job growth since the Great Recession in 2009. This report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that unemployment rates are set to more than double over the course of the pandemic, potentially putting 47 million people out of work. Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi believes that the economy would need trillions more in fiscal stimulus to survive — the trillions that have already been injected into the economy have been insufficient. 

Travel is one of the most affected industries as a result of the pandemic. According to Oxford Economics, due to current bans and restrictions on travel such as the border lockdowns of Mexico and Canada to all nonessential travel, there will be an estimated 18 million fewer travelers to the U.S. As a result, the sum of losses in both domestic and international travel will amount to $355 billion by the end of 2020, according to Oxford Economics. This means that, according to a graph by Tourism Economics of Oxford, the international market will be impacted twice as much as it was after 9/11.

Freshman Maya Rosca, expressed concern with regard to the way the media has been portraying COVID-19’s economic implications.

“Most of what is in the press about the economic crisis right now seems to be biased to some extent because nobody knows much about the virus, so I try my best and choose to believe what seems to have been written by a reliable source or person,” Rosca said. “To this point though, I do not know who or what to believe, as we have seen that not all official statistics are, in fact, true.”

Sophomore Bella D’Ambrosi feels that this situation is dire. Although she herself has not been directly affected by the virus, D’Ambrosi has relatives whose lives have been disrupted by the current economic crisis.

“My aunt was laid off from her job last week due to the current economic situation in our country,” D’Ambrosi said. “It is horrifying to see someone close to me get so harshly affected by something that is out of our control.”

In spite of the economic harm COVID-19 has inflicted, Rosca states that there are ways to minimize its effects. 

“We should learn from this all to simply be more grateful for the friendships and connections we have with people, the physical presence of people, food, even what we considered a mediocre economy and going outside,” Rosca said. “Also, small and individual changes add up to make drastic change [in the spreading of the virus]. Helpful actions [to stay safe] include staying at home, social distancing, being aware of our surroundings when outside and staying positive.”