Northwest Wayne News

In the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak, Michigan’s economy is suffering from business closures and restrictions, such as the stay-at-home order made by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

According to WXYZ Detroit, the state’s economy is already struggling from the impact of the novel coronavirus, and it is unclear how much longer these same conditions will last. 

A business professor at Wayne State University spoke on the reality of the situation in Michigan.  "Well, to put it into perspective, the Michigan economy has already taken a very hard hit," Marick Masters said to WXYZ Detroit.

Masters said that payroll has dropped by more than $1.2 million, and he anticipates unemployment to increase to 24% this quarter. 

Should the state be able to weather the storm of COVID-19, Masters said, it may be able to recover from this massive dip fairly quickly.

"The fundamentals of the economy are sound," Masters told WXYZ Detroit. "There aren’t structural problems with the economy, and the stimulus is enormous. We should be able to bounce back pretty quickly."

Much of the speed of recovery will depend on how long it takes for the state and national economies to reopen.

President Trump is pushing for a quick reopening, though a definite reopen date is yet to be determined, as infectious disease experts and the Coronavirus Task Force has not decided on the matter yet. 

At a recent briefing, President Donald Trump promised that some definitive information would be available soon after he speaks with business leaders.

“We’re going to be speaking with them very soon, and if it’s questions or statements, we want them to have that for us and we will have either response,” Trump said, according to WXYZ Detroit. “Ideally, we are going to be learning from them, and we’ll be able to do that and put everything into our new guidelines."

Masters, too, believes that the economy will recover quickly and that workers are eager to get back to their jobs as soon as possible.