COVID-19: Unemployment in the Southwest, USA

Unemployment is when someone could work and wants to work but is unable to find a suitable job. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) defined it as: "people who don't have a job, have actively looked for work in the past four weeks, and currently are available for work." The BLS also includes temporarily laid off people and are waiting to be called back to that job in unemployment statistics.

The Great Recession of 2008 was a global economic downturn that devastated world financial markets and the banking and real estate industries. The crisis led to various issues such as increases in home mortgage foreclosures and caused millions of Americans to lose their jobs, life savings, and homes. It's generally considered the most extended period of economic decline since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Although its effects were global, the Great Recession greatly affected the United States.

As of present, The COVID-19 outbreak and the economic downturn is now to blame for the incredible rise of unemployed Americans by more than 14 million, from 6.2 million in February to 20.5 million in May 2020. The increase of unemployed workers due to COVID-19 is substantially more significant compared to the Great Recession of 2008. According to a new analysis of government data by the Pew Research Center back in June 2020, the Great Recession, "from December 2007 to June 2009, pushed the unemployment rate to a peak of 10.6% in January 2010, considerably less than the rate currently."