On Thursday, the United States Department of Labor announced that over 1.3 million Americans filed initial unemployment claims last week. This report marks the 17th consecutive week of 1-million-plus unemployment claims. About 51 million people have filed for unemployment benefits since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. This doesn’t include the millions of others who’ve finished collecting benefits, given up looking for a job or have reluctantly taken a position far below their prior compensation level just to make ends meet.
Now, all we ever hear about is the data behind the jobs crisis. However, we hardly ever hear the personalized stories of the Americans behind the statistics. Here are some of the testimonies of the people who are gallantly trying to find a new job against all odds during this very unforgiving job market.
Donna Lauria doesn’t possess a college degree, but found her way into Prudential—one of the largest insurance and financial services firms in the world. She spent decades at the Newark, New Jersey-based organization, working her way up the corporate ladder and earned roughly $200k in salary, bonuses and benefits.