COVID 19 Update 55
Study: Essential Workers Have Contracted the Virus at a Much Lower Rate than General Population
In his press conference today Governor Cuomo stated that a survey sample of Downstate workers who have received the antibody test showed that the percentage of healthcare workers who have the virus antibodies is either about the same or lower than the rate of the general population. The Governor said this shows the importance of masks, gloves and using sanitizer as this protocol has worked for front line workers.
Study Results:
| Health Care Workers | General Population | |
| Westchester | 6.8 | 13.8 |
| NYC | 12.2 | 19.9 |
| Long Island | 11.1 | 11.4 |
No EEO-1 Reporting in 2020
EEOC has announced there will be no EEO-1 reporting obligation in 2020. In a press release, EEOC acknowledged it will delay the anticipated opening of the 2019 EEO-1 Component 1 data collection and the 2020 EEO-3 and EEO-5 data collections because of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) public health emergency. The announcement stated.
Worst Postwar U.S. Jobs Report Is On Tap: Here’s What to Watch
This morning’s U.S. jobs report is forecast to show employers slashed about 22 million jobs in April, nearly erasing a decade of job gains in a single month as the country shut down to control the spread of the coronavirus. That’s 27 times the worst monthly decline during the 2007-2009 recession and about 11 times the previous record decline in September 1945, when the nation demobilized with the end of World War II. “This might be the worst macroeconomic data report in U.S. history,” said James Sweeney, chief economist at Credit Suisse Group AG.
With many states reopening this week and next the worst is likely behind us.
ADP: US Private Payrolls Lost 20.2m Jobs Last Month
Data from ADP shows that private payrolls lost 20.2 million jobs last month amid the coronavirus-driven economic shutdown. It was the sharpest drop in the survey’s history dating back to 2002.
Translating Weekly Jobless Claims into Monthly Net Job Losses
The NY Fed’s Liberty Street Economics Group has released a study by Jason Bram and Fatih Karahan that examines some of the statistical anomalies and quirks in the weekly claims series and offer a guide to interpreting these numbers. News headlines highlighting the loss of 26 million jobs (so far) underscore the massive shock that has hit the U.S. economy. But how accurately does this number actually capture the number of net job losses?
Paycheck Protection Program Funds Still Available
Billions of dollars in potentially forgivable Payroll Protection Program (PPP) capital remains available to small businesses and nonprofits to help provide eight weeks of payroll and certain overhead to keep workers employed. PPP, created out by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, is responsible for infusing billions of dollars of capital into small businesses nationwide and saving jobs.
“The Paycheck Protection Program is working. Small businesses are keeping their employees on payroll and earning salary,” said SBA Atlantic Regional Administrator Steve Bulger who oversees the federal agency’s operations in New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. “For this federal program to work for you and your employees, I encourage you to submit an application through a PPP-participating bank, credit union, CDFI or online lender.
SBA PPP Has $100B Remaining to Loan
Ford and 3M Send Respirators to Front Lines
The newly designed respirators include a hood and face shield to cover head and shoulders, while a high-efficiency filter system provides a supply of filtered air for up to eight hours. The air-blower system, Ford says, is similar to the fan found in a Ford F-150 pickup’s ventilated seats. It is powered by a rechargeable, portable battery, helping to keep the respirator in constant use by first-line defenders.
About 90 United Auto Workers union members have assembled more than 10,000 respirators at a Ford plant near Flat Rock, Michigan, according to the automaker.
NAM Calls for Continued Deduction of Business Expenses for Companies with Forgiven PPP Loans
The NAM has joined with dozens of other associations to urge the chairmen of the House and Senate tax writing committees to allow companies that receive PPP loans that are ultimately forgiven to continue to deduct ordinary business expenses, including employee compensation. Recent IRS guidance prohibits companies from deducting these amounts, but that would restrict liquidity for manufacturers during this difficult time.
Companies Remake Offices with Safety in Mind
A plexiglass barrier that can be mounted on a desk is one of many ideas being mulled by employers as they contemplate a return to the workplace after coronavirus lockdowns. Their post-pandemic makeovers may include hand sanitizers built into desks that are positioned at 90-degree angles or that are enclosed by translucent plastic partitions; air filters that push air down and not up; outdoor gathering space to allow collaboration without viral transmission; and windows that actually open, for freer air flow.
(Note: Council Member USHECO Plastics is producing desk and other barriers)
Read the full story at the The New York Times (tiered subscription model)
