/biz/ - Business & Finance

In January the labor force participation rate was already ~63% or an abysmal 50-year, all-time low.

More jobs have been wiped out in 2 weeks as had been created in 5 years.

If the current trend continues, the headline unemployment rate is projected to reach 30%, overtaking the great depression at 24%.

Half of those jobs will not come back, partially due to business shutting down permanently, but also because wide-scale unemployment prompts larger businesses to accelerate the automation of jobs.

According to the most recent EY survey ~40 of business owners worldwide have increased their investments in automation. And even those who haven't invested in automation are still looking to eliminate job positions due to financial reasons.

Under current circumstances this means that, even with immediate government intervention, the pre-2020 economy, at least in the US, is unlikely to return.

None of the clocks have any hands.