US suffers world's biggest jump in economic misery as COVID cases surge

• The US is set to suffer the biggest jump in economic misery this year as inflation slows and unemployment spikes.
• The country dropped to rank 25 from rank 50 in Bloomberg's Misery Index, which measures 60 different economies around the world.
• Thailand, Singapore, and Japan ranked as the year's least miserable economies, while Venezuela, Argentina, and South Africa ranked the lowest on the list and showed the most misery.
• Israel, Iceland, and Panama were the only countries to post drops even close to the US's, according to Bloomberg.

The US is projected to undergo the biggest increase in economic misery across 60 countries as the nation grapples with heightened unemployment and fresh coronavirus hotspots.

Bloomberg's Misery Index, which ranks major economies by inflation and unemployment expectations, shows the country sinking to rank 25 from rank 50 in 2020. Venezuela, Argentina, and South Africa held their spots as the world's most miserable economies.

Thailand, Singapore, and Japan registered as the least miserable nations, with the latter two each jumping one spot and pushing Switzerland into fourth place.

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The US was hit by both plunging inflation expectations and spiking joblessness. Economists expect near-term inflation to slide below 1% in the US as a drop in consumer spending drives steady disinflation. The nation's unemployment rate spiked as high as 13.4% in the second quarter from a pre-pandemic reading of 3.5%, ranking among the worst labor market tumbles around the world.

Israel, Iceland, and Panama were the only countries to suffer a drop close to that seen in the US, according to Bloomberg. Of the world's largest economies, China and Japan declined the least, while the eurozone and the UK both experienced bigger jumps in joblessness and drops in inflation.

Luxembourg's economy improved the most from 2019 to 2020 by leaping to rank 30 from 47.

Not all index improvements equate to economic happiness, according to Bloomberg. Some higher rankings were fueled by demand hits that pushed inflation expectations into negative territory. The top four least miserable economies of 2020 all expect deflation to hit in the near future. Such a trend would likely harm borrowers and worsen an already steep recession.

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