Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

 

The number of Americans that have filed for unemployment benefits in 2020 exceeds the number that voted for Trump in 2016

 

I am not trying to make a political statement with this article.  I am simply pointing out that the number of Americans that have filed initial claims for unemployment benefits in 2020 is almost unimaginable.  In 2016, a total of 62,984,828 votes were cast for Donald Trump.  Here in 2020, a total of 63,600,000 million Americans have filed new claims for unemployment benefits since the middle of March.  So the number of Americans that have filed for unemployment during this pandemic is now greater than the number of Trump voters in the last election.  Of course if Hillary Clinton had won in 2016, we would be saying the exact same thing about her in a couple of weeks.  Back in 2016, she received a grand total of 65,853,514 votes.  The point is not to assign political blame to one side or the other, because neither side knew that COVID-19 was coming.  Rather, I am trying to get my readers to understand that we have witnessed a collapse in employment during this pandemic that is absolutely unprecedented.

 

And more layoff announcements keep rolling in with each passing day.  For instance, we just learned that ESPN will be laying off hundreds of workers

 

ESPN could lay off hundreds of employees in the coming weeks, sources told Front Office Sports.

 

One source pegged the potential number of job losses between 300 and 700 employees. Another estimated 400 possible lost jobs.

 

The cuts are expected to hit hardest among ESPN employees who work behind the camera.

 

For many, working in sports television is a dream job, and it hurts me to think that many of those employees will soon lose jobs that they truly love.

 

Elsewhere, Amtrak has just announced that they could soon be eliminating 2,400 more jobs

 

Amtrak will need to cut 2,400 more jobs and could see “drastic impacts” on its rail service if Congress does not intervene and provide emergency funding for the passenger rail provider, the company announced Thursday.

 

In a letter to lawmakers, Amtrak President and CEO William Flynn requested nearly $4.9 billion in fiscal year 2021 to help it close massive budget gaps it faces amid the pandemic.

 

I know that I am probably boring my readers by discussing layoff announcements day after day after day, but I am trying to make a very important point.

 

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