Forget 'recession': this is a depression | David Blanchflower and David Bell
Although UK data lags behind the US, the evidence is mounting - coronavirus makes 2008 look trivial
There is no doubt about it: the UK and many other European countries are already in a depression. We think of a depression as even worse than a recession - as a sustained, long-term downturn in economic activity in one or more economies. A depression is generally deeper and longer lasting than a recession.
As the daily drama of the Covid-19 count continues to scare everyone senseless, there is another a key indicator of economic rather than physical health that we also need to pay close attention to. That is how much unemployment there actually is, how much it has increased already and how much it will increase in the not too distant future. As everyone has hunkered down, many workers are not at their jobs and unemployment is growing. The problem is we have no idea how much it has risen already and how big any increase will be. The levels of unemployment are likely to be beyond anything in living memory - as will be the speed of the increase.
Related: Unemployment in US and UK may 'rise above Great Depression'
Related: UK coronavirus live: hospital death toll reaches 3,605, a record daily rise of 684
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