Although over 36 million people lost their jobs due to the forced shutdown of America during the COVID-19 crisis, I believe that approximately a third of those jobs have come back. Please don’t listen to politicians who say that we are in the greatest job creation period of our lifetimes – that statement is quite laughable. At best, we are in the greatest job recovery period. The truth of the matter is that we are in a time of complete and utter chaos and fear-mongering.
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As we continue to press forward into what I have branded as “the year of uncertainty,” we continue to navigate markets in an environment of extremely high volatility. The volatility index, often referred to as the VIX, or the “fear index” is currently trading at around 30. During normal economic environments, when not dealing with a global health crisis, nationwide shutdowns of certain industries and weird executive orders being implemented on a unilateral basis, the VIX is perfectly happy trading around the 10-12 area. What this indicates is how much investors are willing to pay for protection of their portfolio. Which will it be, red or blue? 
Unfortunately, the last four months have brought quite a bit of turmoil. U.S. unemployment numbers were at a historic, record low of below 4% for 23 consistent months, only to be destroyed by a nationwide stay-at-home order that decimated our workforce. It is estimated that over 36 million people lost their jobs between the end of March and the beginning of June, and our unemployment rate is the worst since the Great Depression.* In fact, the currently horrible economic numbers can only be compared to those experienced during the 1930s. 