If unemployment reaches 20-30%, it would be catastrophic to the economy and society; the Great Depression peaked at 25-28% unemployment, so 20-30% unemployment from automation would match or exceed that catastrophic level.

causalpending

Speaker

Dave Shapiro

Evidence Quote

if we just get to 20 or 30% unemployment, that's bad enough... the highest unemployment we saw during the Great Depression was 25 to 28%. And that was catastrophic.

Source

Post-Labor Economics Lecture 02 - "Economic Agency Paradox" (2025 update)David Shapiro
Created: 8/11/2026, 5:34:35 AM

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