Bernie Sanders called to fundamentally change the economy upon the news that the unemployment rate had risen to nearly 15% on Friday.
The coronavirus pandemic has led to millions of layoffs across the country because of the rampant closure of businesses not deemed “essential.” Many workplaces have stalled or changed their frequency of business, leaving many employees without a job or working inconsistent hours. The majority of functioning workplaces have gone remote.
The Vermont senator and former presidential candidate is known for his advocacy of socialism and is often an outspoken critic of capitalism, corporations, and the country’s wealth disparity.
“This is what a rigged and corrupt economy looks like: Stock market: Best monthly gains in 33 years Unemployment: Worst since the Great Depression,” Sanders tweeted on Friday. “We have got to fundamentally change the economy. Wall Street CEOs should not be profiteering off of so much pain and suffering.”
This is what a rigged and corrupt economy looks like:
-Stock market: Best monthly gains in 33 years
-Unemployment: Worst since the Great DepressionWe have got to fundamentally change the economy. Wall Street CEOs should not be profiteering off of so much pain and suffering.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) May 8, 2020
The Wall Street Journal reported the April unemployment rate surged to 14.7%, the highest since the Great Depression. Payrolls dropped by 20.5 million workers wiping out a decade of job gains in one month.
The report says employment fell across several business sectors in April but with particularly large increases in unemployment among women, college dropouts, and Hispanics.
Despite the fall in employment, U.S. stock rose, expecting a worse April jobs report and the easing of trade tensions between the United States and China.
The S&P 500 rose 1.4% in afternoon trading. The Nasdaq composite added 1.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose about 1.5%.
Economists say they expect April to be the worst month for employment throughout the pandemic.
