Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Economy and Labor Market of the United States (Essay Sample)

COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States: Its Effects on the Economy and Labor Market
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COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States: Its Effects on the Economy and Labor Market
Many reasons cause the unemployment rates in the United States to increase. Unemployment is defined as the situation where people are willing, and available to work but are unable to secure jobs. Some are unemployed simply because they, are unable to find suitable opportunities, while some are unemployed because they are unable to secure employment. Labor is one of the critical factors of production, it is essential for the growth of economies. However, labor is also one of the easiest factors of production to replace. It is because labor is abundant, and especially unskilled and semi-skilled labor (Wanberg, 2012; Bluestein, 2019). Global issues can affect the internal economies of countries. A health crisis has the potential and ability to affect individual states and the whole economy of the world. Moreover, the increased digitization of many processes by many businesses may result in the dislocation of workers and other stakeholders from the market as their roles be replaced by computer systems.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid 19) has become the latest pandemic to cause global panic and economic turmoil. It is the 5th pandemic after the Spanish flu of 1918 (Bluestein, 2019). As of now, it has spread to almost all parts of the world causing devastation and deaths. The first reported cases of this Covid 19, were made in Wuhan City, China in December 2019. Since the antiviral treatments and vaccines to counter the virus are still under development and administration (Mosley et al., 2020). Over 100 million reported cases globally, with over 2.5 million fatalities and over 70 million recoveries. The United States is one of the countries with the highest numbers of reported Covid 19 cases, with over 30 million reported cases and over half a million deaths. These numbers indicate the severity of the epidemic and have forced many economies including, the United States, to implement quarantine and cessation of movement strategies. The issue of unemployment is at the heart of the crisis as the economic activity slows down (Duffy et al., 2016). This essay will be analyzing the impact of Covid 19 on the labor market in the United States.
Most governments had implemented increased testing, quarantine, and increased social distancing. These measures have restricted business activity as movements of people are also controlled. Either within states or across states (Mosley et al., 2020). There have been several new mutations of the virus in various parts of the world, making the already deadly disease more lethal. There are several vaccines, like Johnson and Johnson, AstraZeneca, Sinopharm, Sputnik v, and Moderna, being administered in various parts of the world (French et al., 2020). The advent of Covid 19 brought with it economic decline in many sectors like business, transport, tourism, and manufacturing. Human and social problems are also recorded, like poverty, emotional distress, and unemployment. Since it is a health crisis, it has caused illness and death (French et al., 2020; Mosley et al., 2020).
Unemployment can be voluntary or involuntary. The voluntary type occurs when one is selective in which jobs they want to undertake despite the existence of other opportunities. The people require a revenue source to support their lives. Basic needs like housing, food, and healthcare are critical for survival in modern America. Moreover, the urban lifestyle associated with the majority of Americans indicates, that there is a lot of dependence on income as the main source of income is usually through employment. Most of the urban dwellers are at this stage. It means that when these people are unable to support their lives then, it becomes a humanitarian issue. Some may become homeless, starvation and disease may persist. In addition to this, some issues arise as a result of unemployment. For example, many families, and unions will be broken. Society vices like prostitution increases, crime, drug use, and many more vises are associated with unemployment (Cinamon, 2018).

Recognizing and Channeling our Privilege

The labor market in the United States is at its worst in decades. According to Joe Pinker's (2020) article in the Atlantic titled, "The Pandemic Will Cleave America in Two," there are two very different experiences of the Covid 19 Pandemic. The first experience faces people with high education levels and stable jobs. These people can work from home remotely. Their lives have been affected as life has become stressful, taking care of children is challenging, and the work structures have been changed and have been forced to work from home with minimal movements (Duffy et al., 2016).
The second experience is felt by the rest of the working population excluding, the people with high education levels and stable jobs. Most of them cannot work remotely from home. They have to put their lives at risk every time they leave their houses for work. A majority of these outdoor workers have faced job losses due to downsizing and economic slowdown. Most of them have applied for unemployment benefits. According to Pinker (2020), there have been over 2 million new requests for unemployment benefits in the United States since the pandemic began. The unemployed group is more worried about how they will survive than what they will do if they get the virus (French et al., 2020; Mosley et al., 2020;