U.S. Bets Furloughs Top Being Fired for 600,000 and Counting
- Stimulus designed to give firms incentives to avoid layoffs
- Furloughed workers to keep receiving health care coverage
This article is for subscribers only.
The wreckage appeared overwhelming the past few days as U.S. retailers furloughed hundreds of thousands of employees. The total might hit 1 million by week’s end.
But given the reality on the ground, Heidi Shierholz, an economist for the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, doesn’t view the announcements from big chains like Macy’s Inc. as bad news at all.