The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday that 1.8 million jobs were added in July, drastically down from the 4 million added in June—with the halt to reopenings appearing to have dampened momentum towards recovering the over 20 million jobs lost since the pandemic took hold in March.
KEY FACTS
Although unemployment ticked down for the third straight month, July’s job recovery is well behind over the 4 million reported in June, indicating a slowdown.“We are seeing evidence that the economic recovery is losing steam. It’s not reversing, but it looks like the growth is flattening out,” Glassdoor senior economist Daniel Zhao told NBC News. July’s labor report shows teenagers making up the largest age group to return to work, at 20%, while among ethnic groups, Hispanics made the largest gains (12%) but unemployment among Blacks remained flat. Leisure and hospitality—two sectors hard-hit by the coronavirus—added one-third of the total July gain, followed by food services, amusement, gambling, and recreation.
Total employment, however, remains well below pre-pandemic levels, and over 30 million people are receiving some kind of unemployment benefits.
Questions are being raised about continued economic recovery, as the $600 federal unemployment benefits have expired for workers along with other aid, like applications for the small business Paycheck Protection Program, set to expire Saturday.
KEY BACKGROUND
The coronavirus pandemic clobbered the economy in March as most states underwent stay-at-home orders to flatten the curve. The resulting unemployment crisis is the worst in U.S. history, dramatically outpacing the Great Depression and the 2009 financial crisis, among other economically difficult times here. A record of 6.9 million people filed for unemployment in March, making that week the highest number of jobless claims ever recorded. A number of states have paused reopening efforts to curb spiking rates of infection, which the Federal Reserve of St. Louis indicated a halt for unemployment recovery in a June report.
Article Credit www.Fobes.com