3.3 Million Americans File for Unemployment Insurance; U.S. House to Vote on $2 Trillion Stimulus Soon.
CURNOW: Welcome back. I'm Robyn Curnow. Now people all over the world are losing their jobs because of coronavirus, shutdowns and struggling to figure out how they make ends meet. In the U.S., a record number of Americans, some 3.3 million, filed for unemployment benefits just last week. Kyung Lah spoke with a few of them. Here she is.</s>JOSH SOUDER, DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS, I.E. ENTERTAINMENT GROUP: How are you doing, guys? It's just been a completely life-altering experience from start to finish. And within a week, I mean, this is unbelievable.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I have a two-ounce and I have an eight- ounce.</s>KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A record number of newly unemployed Americans with a virus that leaves no business untouched.</s>SOUDER: We would have all the seats filled.</s>LAH (on camera): All of these seats?</s>SOUDER: It would be a line out the door.</s>LAH (voice-over): 3.3 million filed jobless claims last week. Coronavirus cratering businesses.</s>SOUDER: We went from being about to franchise to basically running a to-go business. I -- you know, I haven't slept. I am -- I'm worried about having a heart attack to be perfectly honest with you.</s>LAH: With no diners, the Drunken Crab is hemorrhaging thousands of dollars a day. Every business, every industry, re-evaluating under this economic tsunami.</s>SOUDER: Have a good night.</s>LAH: Josh Souder already forced to make that hard choice.</s>SOUDER: I had to -- you know, was forced to lay off 75 people. At first you're thinking about them. OK, I feel horrible for them, and then they have to go home and tell their family, I just got laid off.</s>JAY BOCKEN, RESTAURANT GENERAL MANAGER LAID OFF THIS MONTH: I called my wife over the phone and said, honey, I'm on my way home. And she just -- she pretty much immediately knew.</s>LAH: Laid off from the Drunken Crab, former general manager Jay Bocken immediately filed for unemployment. And it's just the tip of the iceberg say economists predicting by summer 14 million workers will lose their jobs due to the coronavirus shock.</s>BOCKEN: You're talking thousands and thousands of people looking for work simultaneously. It's going to hit every aspect of life and the government needs to react and help us get through this. That's the only way it's going to work. And people are not going to be able to support their families for more than two months.</s>LAH: And already signs money is getting tight. Outside this West Hollywood bar, employees only, a line. Inside, the small staff preps meals, free meals for workers who show a pay stub. Like bartender Geri Courtney Austen.</s>GERI COURTNEY AUSTEN, LAID-OFF BARTENDER: All of us like immediately lost our jobs I think as of Monday or Tuesday.</s>LAH (on camera): Are you worried about how long this is going to last?</s>AUSTEN: One hundred percent. Yes. If it goes on months, I don't think any of us have any idea what we're going to do.</s>TOM SOPIT, RESTAURANT OWNER: The moment this happened we're going to dig ourselves in a hole regardless.</s>LAH: Are you scared?</s>SOPIT: I'm concerned.</s>LAH (voice-over): Restaurant owner Tom Sopit's rent is $1,000 per day. He doesn't want to fire anyone but this is a new reality he will have to face.</s>SOPIT: Yes. All we can do is help each other.</s>CURNOW: Thanks to Kyung for that report. Her stories are being felt across the world. Now a recession in the U.S. might already be here. The Federal Reserve chief says the U.S. economy could recover, but the pandemic has to be under control first. Jerome Powell told NBC that the Fed has more ways to fight this economic meltdown even though rates are already at zero.</s>JEROME POWELL, CHAIRMAN, FEDERAL RESERVE: When it comes to this lending, we're not going to run out of ammunition. That doesn't happen. We may well be in a recession but again I would point to the difference between this and a normal recession. This isn't -- there's nothing fundamentally wrong with our economy. Quite the contrary. We would tend to listen to the experts. Dr. Fauci said something like the virus is going to set the timetable, and that sounds right to me.</s>CURNOW: Well, the House will soon vote on the Senate's historic $2 trillion stimulus package but there's no guarantee it will pass. Some lawmakers are scrambling to fly back to Washington just in case they need to vote in person. So let's talk about all of this with Christine Romans. Christine is in New York. And hi. Good to see you again. Let's talk about unemployment. I mean, Kyung Lah's piece really hits home how so many families really going to be struggling through the summer. And not just in the</s>U.S. CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And you multiply Kyung Lah's reporting by thousands and thousands and thousands across the country, and you get to that million -- 3.2 million number, more than 3.2 million people who just in one week filed for unemployment benefits. And what I've been hearing is that, you know, the number was probably even bigger than that because so many people couldn't get through to their state unemployment offices, right? The Web sites went down. The phone lines were jammed. There were just so many people rushing to file for unemployment benefits. So I think we're going to see that kind of rush for the benefits over the next few weeks. Here's the thing though. I mean, this is what it looks like when you shut down an economy on purpose, right? We're doing this on purpose, the government is, so that you can prevent an even bigger public health problem, get ahold of the spread of the virus and then hopefully reopen the economy in an orderly way on the other side of that. So that's the hope. In a way, these numbers are terrifying but not really that surprising.</s>CURNOW: So what do you make of the stimulus package? And should a lot of these folks be flying back to Washington just in case?</s>ROMANS: Well, they need to get this done. And probably, honestly, I don't even like to call it a stimulus package because it doesn't really stimulate anything. This is just stopping the bleeding. Stimulating might have to come later in more money being spent and I know that sounds crazy when you look at just how big this is. The biggest bailout undertaking in American history. $2 trillion. It's just a gargantuan bill. And it might not be enough depending on, as the Fed chief said, the timeline of the virus here. They'll have to get it done. The president wants to sign it by today. I think markets have already baked in that this is done and there's more bailout money, more relief, more rescue, more stimulus coming down the pike. You've seen three days of huge stock market gains in the United States because there's this feeling that the money will be flowing from both the Fed and from Congress. The money will flow to protect those people who have been thrown out of work because we've shut down the economy.</s>CURNOW: OK. Good to speak to you. Christine Romans there live in New York.</s>ROMANS: You, too, Robyn.</s>CURNOW: Thanks so much. So European markets have opened. Let's take a look at some of the numbers. They've opened lower and that's despite strong gains in Asian markets in recent hours. Take a look at Wall Street on Thursday. Also down. The main markets all in the red. London FTSE also down 3.5 percent. U.S. Futures currently lower but not by much. Still pointing to a negative day for U.S. markets. And now to Singapore which is threatening tough measures for anyone who doesn't observe social distancing. People could face up to a $7,000 fine or six months in prison if they meet in groups of 10 people or more or if they don't keep at least one meter apart. The government reports close to 700 cases of coronavirus and two deaths. So you're watching CNN NEWSROOM. Still to come, Italy's desperate struggle with the coronavirus has been a warning to other countries. Is that a sign of what is coming to the U.S.? A report from Rome, next. Also how do you postpone a huge global event like the Olympics? Japan is about to find out. And the numbers involved are mindboggling.