system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
This might be a dumb question, but assuming we can keep the the number of businesses failing low, is high unemployment due to the pandemic easily recoverable?
gpt
Business failures will certainly make things much worse and lead to a longer recovery period but it is unlikely that we will see a return to pre-COVID unemployment levels anytime soon.  Even if firms don’t go under in large numbers, firms face a number of issues now.  Firms were already highly indebted on average prior to COVID and many now face an even higher debt burden.  They will have to tighten their belts as they deleverage by cutting expenses including headcount in some cases.  The other big issue is the shock to aggregate demand will likely not go away overnight.  Some industries might be able to see demand for their goods and services return quickly but for others it will be a long road such as tourism, hospitality, entertainment, oil etc.  Part of the impact on demand is consumer indebtedness and consumer confidence both of which also can’t be quickly fixed.