Deaths caused by US unemployment being on a record high!
After watching “The Big Short” once again, I ran into the following line: “Every 1% unemployment goes up, 40 000 people die. Did you know that?” In fact I did not know that, but before relying on this number, I did research and found the following:
“Corporate Flight”, a book published in 1982, states that: “According to one study (the one by Bluestone et al.) a 1 percent increase in the unemployment rate will be associated with 37,000 deaths (per year):
- 20,000 heart attacks
- 920 suicides
- 650 homicides
- 4,000 state mental hospital admissions
- 3,300 state prison admissions
The unemployment number in the US for January this year was 3.5%. Currently it is 14.7%. If the facts are correct, this means that the lockdown caused 11.2(14.7-3.5)*37.000= 414.400 deaths this year in the US alone due to the lock-down. Currently 94.948 US citizens have lost their life due to COVID-19.
I am not saying that the lock-down is not helpful, but if these numbers are true, they should be taken in consideration.