JA USA CEO on Pandemic-Related Job Loss and Financial Realities

April 23, 2020

Op-ed: As US job loss hits 26.4 million, it’s time to talk to kids about financial reality of coronavirus crisis

by Jack Kosakowski, president and CEO of JA USA

The COVID-19 pandemic is not only the most significant public health crisis facing the world in a century, it’s also an economic one. Over a span of just five weeks, more than 26.4 million Americans have filed unemployment claims as a result of the crisis, a number that is expected to grow as the pandemic continues. This total now surpasses all of the job gains since the Great Recession, the two year financial crisis, from 2007–2009, in which 8.8 million Americans lost their jobs — that’s just one-third of the total number of unemployed in the U.S. today.

A new survey of 1,000 teens by Junior Achievement and Citizens Bank|Citizens One shows that 69% of teens are concerned about the financial impact of COVID-19 on them and their families. In these circumstances, there is a tendency for parents and caregivers to avoid discussing finances with kids, as there is an inclination to shelter and protect those who depend on us.

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