The Jobs Crisis Is Broader Than It Seemed

Connecting the Dots – #YesThisIsAnArtsStory Repost from The New York Times

Neil Irwin | 05 February 2021

To understand what is important about the new employment numbers released Friday, imagine two different varieties of economic downturn.

In one, a handful of industries experience a near-shutdown for reasons beyond anyone’s control, driving millions of people out of their jobs. But most other industries carry on unfazed.

In another, a broad contraction in spending causes job losses across the economy. The story is not so much about one or two industries being devastated, but lots of them experiencing moderate pain.

Both would involve a lot of human suffering, and both would justify government help to the people affected. But they would have strikingly different implications for specific government action.