The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge effect on our economy, including hurting many small and large businesses and many layoffs due to social distancing. There have even been protests to reopen the country due to this economic shutdown. But what exactly is the full extent of the pandemic’s economic impact?

One huge impact the virus has had is on unemployment. Social distancing due to the pandemic has caused many workers to be laid off due to lower sales. Since March 13, more than 20 million people in the US filed for unemployment. On ABC, President Donald Trump’s economic advisor said that the unemployment rate will be similar to the Great Depression. According to the Washington Post, due to all of this unemployment, relief checks of $1,200 are being sent out to Americans as part of an economic relief program by the US.

In addition to unemployment, many businesses are also affected by the pandemic. Many small businesses are not able to stay afloat due to the pandemic eating away at sales and causing many restaurants to temporarily or even permanently close down. According to CNN, many relief packages for small businesses are being passed in Congress to help them deal with the pandemic and keep workers on the payroll. Large businesses are affected too, especially in the travel industry. According to Forbes, the travel industry will have direct losses of $519 billion due to the pandemic. Airlines have to continue to fly their planes, even if they are empty, to get money from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act for their payrolls. This has led to flights either empty or with just 1 or 2 passengers.

Many people are protesting against strict social distancing measures due to their economic impact. According to WRAL, these are even happening here in Wake County. Protests like these are happening all over the country asking for the faster reopening of our country. According to ABC, many nurses and doctors are protesting against these protesters. They disagree with the protesters on reopening the country. They still want the country open, but say that it is not safe enough to do so currently with the state of the pandemic and potential risks of more spread.

This pandemic has had huge impacts on our country and economy. Many people are unemployed and businesses are closing down or losing sales due to the pandemic. Of course, as the virus continues to spread there will be more economic and social impacts due to the virus but you can help limit the spread of the virus by continuing to social distance.