What is the academic job market going to be like in September-November 2020?
At my US large state univ, there is a hiring freeze for this coming year. Yes, this did also happen c. 2008.
One difference is that in the US the trans-economic source of the problem is by no means resolved... and even when/if it is &quot;resolved&quot;, I think the &quot;new normal&quot; is very hard to predict. So administrations are being, and I think will continue to be, very very cautious about commitments toward the future.
So, no, no reason to be optimistic, because we don't even see the end of the disaster yet. Sorry.