The U.S. could lose as much as $700 billion, or 3.5% of its GDP, in lost revenue and productivity if schools do not reopen in the fall, according to an analysis from Barron’s released on Wednesday.
Without schools and day cares, many parents have been forced to lose work hours or quit their jobs entirely in order to care for their children during the coronavirus pandemic, with about 13% of working parents having lost their jobs or reduced their hours due to child care, according to a survey from Northeastern University.
"This is a big drag on the economy," Northeastern economist Alicia Modestino told Axios. "Working parents are in every state, in every industry, and in every occupation. The macro implications are really, really big."
Modestino found in her research that working parents lose about eight hours per week on average, the equivalent of a full workday, due to their child care responsibilities.
Misty Heggeness, visiting scholar at the Minneapolis Federal Reserve, added that "even if you're lucky enough to have a teleworking situation, it's really hard to work at full capacity when you're essentially acting as a teaching assistant."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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