The Coronavirus pandemic has recently taken the world by storm, forcing businesses and practices to shut down and causing production to slow as people are being ordered to stay within their homes. As the repercussions of the recent pandemic come to light, more people are losing their jobs by the day, and small businesses are taking the biggest beating seen in recent history.
In addition to small businesses, larger corporations are also hurting, as the stock market has been wildly volatile since the widespread growth of the pandemic. All around the world you can find examples of where financial distress is being dealt with by governments and the citizens they provide for.
Stock Market / Global Shares Falling
The Stock Market, which has been the haven for investing in shares of the largest companies in the world today, has experienced rapid shifts in price movement ever since the COVID-19 epidemic has become widespread. Since December 31st of 2019, the FTSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and the Nikkei have all experienced huge drops in price. Specifically, the FTSE and the Dow Jones experienced their biggest one-day drops in the past 20+ years.
Many people are worried that the aid being supplied by the government through stimulus packages / deals are not enough to stabilize the rapidly falling economy.
Record Highs For Unemployment Claims
Every week, more and more people are filing unemployment claims in the U.S. As the effects of the pandemic become more prevalent, it’s likely that an even larger share of people will lose their jobs by the time that this is over. Just this week, unemployment claims in the United States has reached over 16 million, which is a huge jump up from the 6 million claims just two weeks prior. As more lose their jobs, unemployment claims will skyrocket further, more will take out emergency loans from online lenders, and overall, people will be dealing with unprecedented financial problems that will require some external help.
Travel Industry
Travel restrictions being imposed by most countries in the world has caused the travel sector to take a huge beating. The airline industry has especially had a toll taken on it. Due to the pandemic, over 100 countries at this point in time have placed travel restrictions going to and from certain areas. An obvious result of being ordered to quarantine and stay within our homes has caused a dramatic decrease in the purchase of flights.
In order to deter the spread of the disease, it’s imperative to contain hotspot areas, and to not allow travel to happen in and out of the area. As important as this is, it will still have a lasting impact on the travel industry.
Conclusion
The COVID-19 epidemic has certainly brought the world to some sort of a forced pause. As people are being forced to stay indoors, less money will be spent as a result, which will cause businesses to falter. It hasn’t taken long for the effects of the pandemic to become prevalent in many aspects of life, such as in social and financial aspects. Due to the pandemic, the stock market has been extremely volatile, millions upon millions of people are filing for unemployment, and important sectors in the business / investment world are taking a beating.