The Department of Labor reported on Thursday morning that 1,300,000 unemployment claims had been filed in the week ending on July 11.
The elevated level of applications for jobless aid is occurring as new confirmed cases of coronavirus are spiking across much of the Sunbelt, threatening to weaken the economic recovery. Case counts are rising in 40 states and 22 states have either paused or reversed their efforts to reopen their economies, according to Bank of America.
The Labor Department’s Thursday report showed that applications for jobless aid fell by about 10,000 from the previous week. The figure has now topped 1 million for 17 straight weeks. Before the pandemic, the record high for weekly unemployment applications was nearly 700,000.
The total number of people who are receiving jobless benefits dropped 400,000 to 17.3 million, the government said. That suggests that some companies are continuing to rehire workers, which could offset some of the job losses reflected in the still-high level of claims.
An additional 928,000 people sought benefits last week under a separate program for self-employed and gig workers that has made them eligible for aid for the first time. These figures aren’t adjusted for seasonal variations, so the government doesn’t include them in the official count.
The resurgence of the virus and new business shutdowns in states such as Florida and California, along with signs that consumers are pulling back from eating out and other activities, has intensified fears that the economic recovery is losing steam.
The government’s employment report for June showed a solid gain of 4.8 million jobs and an unemployment rate that fell to 11.1% from 13.3%.
But economists increasingly doubt that such a pace can be sustained. The number of employees working at small businesses declined last week, particularly in states with worsening viral outbreaks, according to data from Homebase, a company that makes scheduling and work-tracking software.
Ivanka:
“Find something new”
MoscowMitch:
Trump:
Selling Goya beans on top of the Resolute desk in the WH!
Addendum:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/07/16/9-charts-that-show-good-bad-alarming-this-early-economic-recovery/
/s
ETA: It’s all I can hear in my head at the moment. Especially the “It can’t get no worse”.
I know that the monthly jobs report numbers are always a little off and have to be revised, but the unemployment numbers must be too. The stories about how much time and effort that those who have laid off in just trying to submit an application is horrendous.
Just wait til the massive evictions start because of the millions now un- or under-employed in the GreatTrumpDepression.
New claims up, continuing claims down, still at 11.1% unemployment. And expanded federal benefits end in two weeks. I don’t think people are going to have much success in their quest to “find something new.”
I imagine Phase 4 is going to become a priority topic in Congress very soon. I sincerely hope the D’s are ready to put up a fight, rather than simply bend to the will of R demands. The talking points laid out by Navarro are a non-starter, mostly benefits to businesses and the already wealthy.
What obviously works is getting money directly into the hands of the people who need it, via checks and/or expanded benefits. This also helps Trump and all R’s facing re-election because voters vote on their economic situation more than just about anything else.
I’m not saying D’s should sacrifice the people in this country who need help. I’m saying they should play hardball. Begin with crumpling Navarro’s “priorities” up and dropping them in the trash. Then say, “direct payments to households - that’s it. If you don’t want to do that, then go give a big warm hug to your sinking ship economy, we’ll see you on Nov. 4.” If they want to negotiate, then talk about expanded $$ to schools to help them reopen safely, successfully, logically and sanely, so working people can go back to their jobs.
Direct payments are what works, what this country needs, and what the people/voters want and need. If R’s want to go out and say they can’t do that, it’s untenable, let them. They will lose that PR battle, just like they always do.
Edit: they can also open the discussion on a new tax reform, to pay for all this new debt we are accruing. Might as well broach the subject.