( Washington, 14th August 2020 ) Since the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia in March, the number of people applying for unemployment benefits in the United States for the first time fell below 1 million for the first time. This is a milestone in the long road to economic recovery in the United States.
The US government announced on Thursday that the number of applicants for the latest week was 963,000, which was far lower than the nearly 7 million that was reached in March, marking that the number of first-time jobless claims has fallen sharply for two consecutive weeks. However, the number of people claiming unemployment benefits for the first time each week is still higher than the high point after the 2008 financial crisis and before the outbreak.
Other indicators such as credit card spending and air travellers show that the economic rebound is still slow, and a consumer confidence index has just hit a five-week low.
Michelle Meyer, head of U.S. economic research at the Bank of America (BOA), said: "The way forward is encouraging, but the number of applicants is still high, which means more work is needed. The initial blow in March has already In the past five months, the current initial unemployment claims of 963,000 people still signify a recession deep in the economy."
In the week ending August 1, the number of renewed unemployment benefits in the United States also fell to 15.5 million, the lowest level since the beginning of April, but still far higher than the historical level in the 1960s. Economists had expected Thursday's data to be even higher, with the median estimates for the number of first and renewed unemployment benefits being 1.1 million and 15.8 million respectively.
The decline in the number of people claiming unemployment benefits for the first time came after the number of new cases subsided, highlighting the economic importance of controlling the virus. This may support the view put forward by some companies and US Republicans that the $600 monthly benefit that expires in July prevents people from returning to work. This also means that the next political situation is worthy of attention, and the improvement in the number of unemployment claims may reduce the pressure on the White House and members of Congress to quickly reach a new stimulus package.
**Info & Image are taken online
Comments