10 Million People Unemployed in Two Weeks, 700,000 Fewer Jobs Than Last Month

WASHINGTON, D.C. This morning’s jobs report is the latest sign the economy is approaching a cliff, but the McConnell-led U.S. Senate continues its month-long vacation and ignores calls from Speaker Pelosi to immediately get to work on the next relief package for families. This month’s reduction in over 700,000 American jobs is just the tip of the iceberg, and is sourced from data collected well before the worst of this crisis began fully playing out. History will judge whether the economic situation would have gotten so dire so fast had the President taken the threat seriously in the crucial early days of this crisis and not dismissed it as a “hoax”.

After passing an inadequate relief bill, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declared a recess from congressional business, just as the economic damage of COVID-19 and the Trump administration’s mismanaged response was fully coming into focus. Not even last week’s devastating jobless claim report was enough to convince McConnell that more needs to be done right now, claiming on Tuesday: “I think we need to wait a few days here, a few weeks, and see how things are working out.”   

In response, Kyle Herrig, president of Accountable.US, said: 

 “Today’s jobs numbers are just one more canary in the coal mine. Americans cannot afford for Senator McConnell to wait a ‘few weeks’ to treat this like the economic emergency that it is. If the Majority Leader thinks a $1200 check for taxpayers and a $500 billion corporate bailout fund is the only response needed, he shouldn’t even be part of the discussion. The Senate needs to return from its month-long paid vacation and do everything in its power to ensure this does not turn into the next Great Depression.”

It’s not just Senator McConnell displaying little sense of urgency when it comes to the economic security of everyday Americans. On March 27th, Vice President Pence said the Trump administration’s “entire economic team believe that all the fundamentals continue to be strong.” This weekend, House Minority Leader McCarthy outright dismissed the idea that more needs to be done now to help those in economic distress: “I’m not sure we need a fourth package.”

###

back to top