No electricity and a swamped coastal/beach area most certainly caused businesses to go down. Small businesses were ruined and others probably laid people off.
We can’t be so partisan that we’re illogical dfwgator. If had had a coastal restaurant that remained out of business by the storm, the smart business decision for me would be eventually to lay those people off. It’s that simple.
It is ALSO true that the election of Obama caused layoffs. BOTH probably impacted last week’s numbers.
Not saying that people along the coast didn’t lose their jobs because of Sandy, but it is a minuscule amount that wouldn’t even come close to explaining the massive amount of new jobless claims.