Almost 40% of Households Making Less Than $40,000 a Year Lost Job in March

According to the Federal Reserve, “almost 40 percent of those in households making less than $40,000 a year had lost a job in March”.

Earlier this morning, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell revealed these numbers in a speech on the economic toll and outlook following the coronavirus.

As 33.5 million people filed for unemployment over the past 7 weeks, Chairman Powell noted how “the burden has fallen most heavily on those least able to bear it” (referring to these households making less than $40,000 a year).

He also warned how a prolonged recession could discourage business investment, “limiting the resurgence of jobs” and “can damage or end workers’ careers as their skills lose value and professional networks dry up”.

And while Congress has already passed over $2.9 Trillion in fiscal stimulus packages, the Fed Chairman says additional legislation may be “costly”, but “worth it” to ensure a “stronger recovery”.