Americans Brace for Unemployment Apocalypse—But Keep Shopping!
According to the University of Michigan, a staggering 62% of Americans now expect unemployment to surge in the next year—their gloom matching Great Recession levels, decades after markets tanked. Yet, paradoxically, President Trump's tariffs have turned consumers into economic doomsday preppers who 'are still bracing for an increase in inflation to come,' says survey director Joanne Hsu. Ironically, while hiring stalls like a bad Tinder date, layoffs do too, with unemployment stubbornly low at 4.2%. So yes, everyone’s panicking—and as usual, none of it makes much actual sense.
Share the Story
When you hear 62% of Americans expect a job market disaster but see unemployment barely twitching, you realize everyone’s prepping for a hurricane in a hurricane shelter that’s still leaking all the way up top.
Unemployment fears are so trendy right now, even though the jobless rate is at a Netflix-binge-worthy 4.2%—you can’t scare millennials without a little drama, can you?
We’re still prepping for doom because believing in inflation and job loss pumped up more than their retirement accounts: it’s the unofficial sport of post-tariff America.
Source: Axios | Published: 8/16/2025 | Author: Courtenay Brown
More Articles in US News
Politico Announces Australia Launch for 2026, Because Why Not Start Late?
Sydney Sweeney's $1M Flop, Trump-Approved Jeans & Bathwater Soap Fiasco
Digital Nomad Trapped in Lisbon FOMO, Ends Up BFF Ghosted
30 Lawmakers Diplomatically Skip Trump Speech For The 'People’s State Of The Union' Party
Traveler Confirms Small Towns Are America’s Scenic Waiting Rooms
Buy 1794 D.C. Home: $1.3M For Seven Fireplaces and a 1960s Time Capsule Kitchen
Trump Resumes Student Loan Collections, Wallets Everywhere Beg for Mercy
Pentagon Threatens AI ‘Supply Chain Risk’ As Claude Throws Digital Tantrum
