Report: Coronavirus-Triggered Economic Downturn Unprecedented, Hitting Low-Wage Workers Hard

That’s one conclusion in a new report from the left-leaning Maine Center for Economic Policy. Report author Sara Austin says that in the Great Recession of a decade ago, the first industry hit was housing.  That, she says, forced layoffs of construction workers who, up until then, had held good-paying jobs:

“Here, the people who are losing their jobs first are service industry folks who typically have less income, less of a cushion,” Austin says.

Click here to read the full story, which aired April 2, 2020, on Maine Public Radio.