Winners, Losers and In-Betweens
Thursday, March 26, 2020
A senior Federal Reserve official
estimated that up to 30% of US workers may eventually be out of a job, a figure
bolstered by the news that over 3 million Americans filed for unemployment
benefits last week, compared to the previous week’s total of 282,000.
-U.S. News and World Report
Who is earning money in the shut-down and who isn’t? Orders to stay at home mean
that many workers can’t work. These are the losers in the employment lottery.
Restaurants, as one example, have been hard hit, as they are not considered essential and are
places where large groups of people gather in enclosed spaces, considered
dangerous for spreading the virus. Many have closed – temporarily or for good –
and have laid off their employees. Both the businesses and their employees are
hurting. To alleviate the financial burden of business closures, on Wednesday, the
US Senate approved a $2 trillion measure that expanded unemployment benefits and
provided aid to businesses. The Seattle Times called this action “unprecedented.” The funds are expected to keep many afloat until businesses can reopen.
In stark contrast, local government orders to stay home have made
online shopping more popular than ever. Amazon, the leading consumer shopping/home
delivery business, headquartered in Seattle, is hiring warehouse workers and delivery
personnel all over the country. Amazon has seen upwardly spiking sales volumes. For them, every day is like Black Friday and
Cyber Monday, the days that follow Thanksgiving and traditionally kick
off the Christmas shopping season. Housebound customers are buying as if all
purchases were door-buster deals.
Grocery stores also remain open and are hiring. Although other
essential businesses are defined differently by different cities and states, they
generally include: pharmacies, big-box stores, banks, gas stations, hardware stores,
and health care providers. For now, I guess you could say these are the “winners,”
inasmuch as they are open for business and their services are in demand.
Local businesses of all types continue to reinvent themselves
and remind me pandemic life is a work in progress. Only a week ago Monday, I stopped
by our local Sky Nursery for some garden supplies. Although I felt somewhat
guilty for escaping my house for a one-hour change of scenery, what I saw looked
oddly normal. Employees buzzed about, helping customers and rearranging plants,
as though news of the pandemic had yet to arrive. I asked two of the employees,
“Are you folks closing?” The only response I got was a casual, “No, we’re open,
seven days a week.” As though they lived in a greenhouse bubble.
Now, only a week later, and six days after the governor issued his stay at home order, Sky’s website says they will take orders for pick-up only. The bubble has popped and reality has set in.
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