Economist have begun tackling the difficult job of predicting how hard the coronavirus will hit the US economy. According to an article in Business Insider, Goldman Sachs first predicted that U.S. GDP for the second quarter would contract by 24%. After the unemployment claims data came out March 26, the financial giant increased that to a 34% contraction.
“Goldman’s downward revisions reflect the ‘sky-high jobless claims numbers’ and Congress’ bigger-than-expected stimulus measure,” writer Ben Winck reported. “Unemployment-insurance claims skyrocketed to a record 3.3 million in the week ended March 21, giving economists a first look at how quickly containment measures pummeled the economy.”
