More Americans Unable to Work Due to Surge in Coronavirus Cases

The number of employed Americans shrank by 4.3 million in the two weeks ended December 7, according to the Census Bureau press release. The fall comes even as the number of employed Americans rose by 2.4 million in the previous tally.

• Almost 5 million Americans now say they can’t work because they are sick of coronavirus. 
• Another 5.2 million can’t work because they fear getting sick or spreading the virus, up from previous 4.8 million.
• 6 million Americans were out of work due to the shuttering of businesses, up from 5.2 million in the previous tally.
• About 12.7% of Americans say they didn’t have enough to eat in the past seven days, the highest since late April.
• The total number of employed people in the U.S. is about 140 million.
• Census data underscores the threat that surging coronavirus cases have on the recovering labor market and the importance of getting the virus under control

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