THE CATASTROPHIC APRIL labor market data published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday is drawing comparisons to the Great Depression of the 1930s as experts warn that the country’s economic collapse is in some sense entering a second phase – spreading from retail and hospitality into the broader labor market.
“The coronavirus impacted hospitality and leisure sectors in the first wave of job loss. Now, we’re entering a phase where cuts will come from the service and manufacturing sectors as consumers and businesses stop spending and the impact of the recession begins to spread,” Andrew Challenger, senior vice president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said in a statement on Friday.