Celano could possibly get more from unemployment benefits, which usually amount to about half of regular weekly income, plus the $600 per week added temporarily amid coronavirus. He would also be eligible for the $1,200 stimulus check.
‘Catch-22’
The biggest issue for him is his elderly parents who he cares for and sees daily-- he doesn’t want a job that would expose them to the virus. But he also needs money for rent, gas, car insurance payments, and groceries.
“It’s a catch-22 -- you don’t really know what to do,” Celano said.
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits surged to a record 3.3 million last week. That figure understates the impact of the coronavirus, because many part-time and lower-wage workers don’t qualify for the benefits in certain states, and independent contractors and the self-employed don’t either.
And there are many more expected to be laid off, with 80 million workers at risk and predictions that 3 million businesses could be bankrupt in the next three months.
Government data this week is set to show an additional 3.5 million workers tapping jobless benefits in the seven days ended March 28, according to a survey of economists by Bloomberg News. And the marquee monthly jobs report this Friday is forecast to show the biggest dip in payrolls since 2010.
Meanwhile, as many of 800,000 new jobs are being advertised by companies whose services are in high demand. They include Amazon, CVS Health Corp. and Domino’s Pizza Inc.. Papa John’s International Inc. and discount grocer Aldi are also on the hunt for employees.
Some are getting creative, with grocery chain Albertsons hiring furloughed dining staff from BJ’s Restaurants Inc., which last week suspended its dividend and drew down its credit line. Meat warehouse Americold is scooping up the recently let-go from Great Wolf Lodge.
On Furlough
“There is this tremendous labor pool that is on furlough,” said John Gordon, principal at restaurant consultant Pacific Management Consulting Group. “There will be employees that will use this opportunity to say ‘I’m done with restaurants, I can’t go through this again.’”
But people like Hlava, the Louisville bartender, are hesitant to apply for the new jobs for a number of reasons, including safety concerns. There have been virus-related protests at some of the employers that are hiring, including Amazon. A group of workers at a Staten Island fulfillment center walked off the job Monday to demand Amazon close the facility for extended cleaning, saying some of their colleagues there were diagnosed with Covid-19.