BRUSSELS — The coronavirus pandemic is sending U.S. unemployment figures to levels that could rival the Great Depression. In Washington, that might feel like the inevitable consequence of a health crisis that has forced a sudden halt to much of the economy. But the situation across the Atlantic suggests the dramatic rise in U.S. unemployment — with 17 million people filing for benefits in the past four weeks — is a choice.
But isn’t Europe also on lockdown?
The economic situation in Europe is just as grim.
The French Central Bank estimates its country’s economy contracted by 6 percent in the first quarter, the worst plunge since 1945, for instance. But so far, workers are largely protected. Many governments have stepped in with costly programs to subsidize their wages to avoid layoffs.
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The consequences have been dramatic. Prominent German economic institutes anticipate a bump in Germany’s unemployment this year ranging from 0.2 to 0.5 percentage points. The Ifo Institute for Economic Research thinks the unemployment rate in Germany will peak around 5.9 percent midyear before subsiding.
