Work is Hard to Find

For John, BLUF:  When we go for social distancing and isolation we wipe out vast swaths of sellers, and buyers and the folks who make the things being sold.  That is why key and essential are important designations.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Less than half of L.A. County residents still have jobs amid coronavirus crisis

From The LA Times, by Staff Writer Jaclyn Cosgrove, 17 April 2020.

Here is the lede plus three:

Because of the colossal impact that the coronavirus outbreak has had on the U.S. economy, less than half of Los Angeles County residents — 45% compared with 61% in mid-March — still hold a job, a decline of 16 percentage points, or an estimated 1.3 million jobs, according to findings from a national survey released Friday.

The survey also suggests that 25.5 million jobs have been potentially lost across the U.S. since mid-March, and that people of color, especially black Americans, are more likely to have lost their jobs since mid-March.

Nationally, 15% of white people said they had lost their jobs, while 18% of Latinos and 21% of black people reported job losses.

But a significant majority of job losses, 67% nationally, were reported as temporary layoffs. Angelenos reported similar experiences.

And new jobs are near non-existent, for the same reason people lost their existing jobs in the first place.  At some point there is a crossover between Coronavirus death and deaths from causes related to an economic recession or depression.♠

Unfortunately, much as people may wish it, there is no expert to make this decision.  It is up to the politicians elected by us.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  I am not suggesting that certain House leaders have blood on their hands, because we just don't know where that crossover point is.  A little humility all round would be useful.