Story at a glance
- The message from Dimon comes as the economic effects of the coronavirus continue to batter the economy.
- As of May 9, 36.5 million people in the U.S. filed unemployment claims as coronavirus lockdowns shuttered businesses deemed nonessential.
- Last week, the Federal Reserve said that 40 percent of U.S. households earning less than $40,000 a year lost their jobs in March.
JP Morgan Chase chief executive and billionaire Jamie Dimon on Tuesday said that the coronavirus crisis should serve as a “wake-up call” to build an economy that offers opportunities for “dramatically more people.”
“It is my fervent hope that we use this crisis as a catalyst to rebuild an economy that creates and sustains opportunity for dramatically more people, especially those who have been left behind for too long,” Dimon said in a memo issued before his bank’s annual shareholder meeting detailing the bank’s response to the pandemic.
“The last few months have laid bare the reality that, even before the pandemic hit, far too many people were living on the edge,” he added.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CORONAVIRUS RIGHT NOW
AS STATES REOPEN, SOME SEE CORONAVIRUS CASES SPIKE
EXPERTS: 90% OF CORONAVIRUS DEATHS COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED
HERE’S WHEN IT’S SAFE FOR YOUR STATE TO REOPEN
HERE ARE THE 6 WAYS THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC COULD END
The message from Dimon comes as the economic effects of the coronavirus continue to batter the economy.
As of May 9, 36.5 million people in the U.S. filed unemployment claims as coronavirus lockdowns shuttered businesses deemed nonessential in order to stop the spread of COVID-19. The unemployment rate in the United States spiked to 14.7 percent in April, the highest it’s been since the Great Depression.
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The closures prompted millions of people to be laid off or furloughed. States have begun a gradual process of reopening their economies, but health officials have warned doing so too fast could lead to new outbreaks and cause deeper economic damage.
Last week, the Federal Reserve said that 40 percent of U.S. households earning less than $40,000 a year lost their jobs in March, underscoring the devastating financial devastation the pandemic has had on low-income workers.
“Unfortunately, low-income communities and people of color are being hit the hardest, exacerbating the health and economic inequities that were already unacceptably pronounced before the virus took over,” Dimon said.
“This crisis must serve as a wake-up call and a call to action for business and government to think, act and invest for the common good and confront the structural obstacles that have inhibited inclusive economic growth for years,” he said.
In addition, Dimon said in the memo that the bank has provided more than $30 million to over 250,000 businesses since the debut of the Paycheck Program, reaching more than 3 million employees.
Dimon has regularly commented on social issues, and in an annual letter to shareholders in April, acknowledged the U.S. had not been adequately prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic.
BREAKING NEWS ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
WHO: THERE’S NO EVIDENCE WEARING A MASK WILL PROTECT YOU FROM CORONAVIRUS
FAUCI PREDICTS ANOTHER CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK IN THE FALL WITH A ‘VERY DIFFERENT’ OUTCOME
MORE THAN 1000 TEST POSITIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS AT TYSON MEAT PLANT THE DAY IT REOPENS
TEXAS REPORTS SINGLE-DAY HIGH IN CORONAVIRUS DEATHS TWO WEEKS AFTER REOPENING
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