+6 votes
in General Factchecking by Apprentice (1.0k points)
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, "The recession induced by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic resulted in steep job losses, pushed unemployment rate to a high percent of 13.0 percent in the second quarter of 2020". The article talks about how unemployment rate and employment rate declined in all demographic groups.

21 Answers

+3 votes
by Apprentice (1.1k points)
selected by
 
Best answer

Unemployment rates indeed increased due to COVID-19. I found an article from Pew Research Center confirming this statement. The article stated, The COVID-19 outbreak and the economic downturn it engendered swelled the ranks of unemployed Americans by more than 14 million, from 6.2 million in February to 20.5 million in May 2020." A comparison of the rates being higher than in the Great Recession was made to show just how much the unemployment rates have increased. The article went into detail on how the pandemic increase in unemployment rates affected each gender, immigrants, and ethnicities as well. Overall, unemployment rates increased due to the pandemic. Not misinformation!

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/06/11/unemployment-rose-higher-in-three-months-of-covid-19-than-it-did-in-two-years-of-the-great-recession/

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by Genius (41.0k points)
You did a nice job providing a clear explanation that includes data and relevant information. Great work.
by Novice (640 points)
You did a great job using a reputable source to qualify your claim. I like how you connected COVID-19 to the economic downturn and elaborated that specific subgroups of the population were impacted more in regards to unemployment.
by Novice (590 points)
Unemployment rates indeed increased due to COVID-19, with the Pew Research Center reporting that the outbreak and economic downturn led to over 14 million more unemployed Americans from February to May 2020, totaling 20.5 million, higher than during the Great Recession, impacting various gender, immigrant, and ethnic groups. The article from Pew Research Center provides concrete evidence of the pandemic's significant impact on unemployment rates.
+2 votes
by Apprentice (1.4k points)
In April 2020, the unemployment rate jumped to its highest level since the 1930s, according to a description on the website. And this is exactly the time period of Covid-19.

https://www.cbpp.org/research/poverty-and-inequality/tracking-the-covid-19-economys-effects-on-food-housing-and#:~:text=The%20unemployment%20rate%20jumped%20in,2021%20than%20in%20February%202020.
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by Genius (41.0k points)
Don't forget to add within your explanation your source by name (re: According to XXXXX,) and also you can add pertinent data or information from the source, which would bolster your fact-check.
by Novice (590 points)
You did a great job explaining everything in detail and included all the pertinent details. What you've done is fantastic.
+3 votes
by Novice (860 points)

This is true. There was a large increase in unemployment, especially in the year 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the United States, "The unemployment rate peaked at an unprecedented level, not seen since data collection started in 1948, in April 2020 (14.8%) before declining to a still- elevated level in February 2021 (6.2%) relative to February 2020 (3.5%)." Unemployment was highest in jobs that provided in-person services. This source provides a lot of really useful data regarding your topic. They provide charts and graphs that not only show the unemployment rates but also how they differ depending on different demographics (age, race, gender, job type, etc.).

 Not misinformation 

https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R46554/9

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+2 votes
by Novice (960 points)

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Based on the provided resource and claim, covid-19 did indeed cause a crippling effect in the work and career industries across the nations. 2019 and 2020 faced the most steep losses, and though the US Bureau of Labor tried to improve conditions, the number of unemployed, was still well in decline. This resource is credible and accountable due to the amount of research this article committed to, and the mention of various data.

According to the Federation of American Scientists, reports show that the unemployment rate by mid 2020 reached 14.8%, which is observed as the highest rate since data collection began in 1948. In July of 2021, the unemployment rate remained higher by 5.4% than it had been in February of 2020 when it was 3.5%. There has only from 2019 to now been a partial recovery in categories such as labor force participation, and economic sectors relevant to employment.

 

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+2 votes
by Journeyman (2.3k points)
Covid-19 did increase the unemployment rate. According to the congressional research service, the unemployment rate in 2020 reached to 14.8%, the highest since 1948. Labor declined by 60.2% due to covid. Based on this I would say that this statement is true.

https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R46554.pdf
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+2 votes
by Novice (700 points)

Yes a lot of people lost their jobs and their bussiness. Since we had to quaratine for a long time a lot of people jobs couldnt stay open during that process. Also people looking for new jobs that are still working during the pandemic so they can ahve some money coming in. Even during quaratine people were leaving their jobs for jobs that didnt have to quartatine exposing them to COVID. People needed jobs during quaratine, but a lot of the “jobs” were lost since they couldnt stay open during quaratine since no public was there to bring money in. 

https://www.usnews.com/news/healthiest-communities/coronavirus-data/unemployment-rate#active%5B%5D=17019&chart_type=line

True
+1 vote
by Novice (700 points)

This is true, and an article form the U.S Bureu of Labor Statistics states, "The recession induced by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic resulted in steep job losses, pushed the unemployment rate to a high of 13.0 percent in the second quarter of 2020, and caused many people to leave the labor force."

https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2022/article/us-labor-market-shows-improvement-in-2021-but-the-covid-19-pandemic-continues-to-weigh-on-the-economy.htm#:~:text=The%20recession%20induced%20by%20the,to%20leave%20the%20labor%20force. 

by Genius (41.0k points)
Going forward, it's best to dig deeper and find a source that isn't listed within the claim itself.
+1 vote
by Novice (980 points)

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics states that the Covid-19 pandemic caused a recession. 

U.S. labor market shows improvement in 2021, but the COVID-19 pandemic continues to weigh on the economy : Monthly Labor Review: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (bls.gov)

The Congressional Research Service provides data that "in the early months of the recession, the unemployment rates were highest in industries that provide in-person services" ("Unemployment Rates During the COVID-19 Pandemic: In Brief"). They also provide data that workers that were highly affected included workers without a college degree, part-time workers, and racial and ethnic minorities. These rates were high in 2020 during the peak of the pandemic and stayed relatively high in 2021. 

Unemployment Rates During the COVID-19 Pandemic: In Brief (congress.gov)

+2 votes
by Newbie (320 points)
This claim is true. In April 2020, the unemployment rate reached 14.8 percent, the highest since 1948. That was a stark contrast to the unemployment rate just two months earlier of 3.5 percent in February 2020 and the increase was due to many strict shut down orders and social distancing requirements, as well as layoffs.

Source: Congressional Research Service

https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R46554.pdf
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+1 vote
by Novice (860 points)
This is True. according to Pew Research Center, the unemployment rate went from 6.2 million in February 2020 to 20.5 million in May 2020.

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/06/11/unemployment-rose-higher-in-three-months-of-covid-19-than-it-did-in-two-years-of-the-great-recession/
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