June 25, 2020


 The US has had more than 1 million jobless claims for 14 straight weeks

VOX
  • On Thursday, the Labor Department reported almost 1.5 million jobless claims for the previous week, approximately the same as past weeks in June. Currently, about 19.5 million people are receiving unemployment benefits. [WSJ / Sarah Chaney]
  • It’s the 14th straight week that the number of US unemployment claims has cleared 1 million, an unheard-of figure prior to the coronavirus pandemic. Thursday’s number — 1.48 million claims — was worse than the 1.35 million predicted by economists. [NBC News / David Gura]
  • Earlier this month, economists concluded that the US economy officially entered a recession in February this year; monthly unemployment data puts the current US unemployment rate at about 13.3 percent, up from just 3.5 percent in February. [CBS News]
  • As Vox’s Dylan Scott points out, the push to reopen businesses in order to alleviate economic pain could have major public health repercussions, some of which are already becoming apparent as states experience a surge in cases. [Vox / Dylan Scott]
  • In Texas Thursday, for example, Gov. Greg Abbott froze the state’s reopening timeline in response to its burgeoning Covid-19 disaster. “The last thing we want to do as a state is go backwards and close down businesses,” he said in a statement. [Twitter / Priscilla Thompson]
  • But the surge in cases spooked markets: The Dow Jones stock index closed 700 points down on Wednesday as markets had their worst day in two weeks. [MarketWatch / Joy Wiltermuth and Sunny Oh]
  • The future also looks worrying: The enhanced unemployment benefits included in the CARES Act — an additional $600 per week — are set to expire at the end of July. When that happens, CNBC reported earlier this week, many Americans could be facing an “income cliff.” [CNBC / Alicia Adamczyk]
  • Those benefits could still be renewed by another stimulus package from Congress, and President Donald Trump reportedly also supports another round of direct payments to Americans. Still, the prospects of a July stimulus package — and what will be included in it — remain unclear. [Washington Post / Jeff Stein, Josh Dawsey, and Erica Werner]
  • In any case, a broader economic recovery might have to wait. As Vox’s Dylan Matthews writes, what’s needed right now is “income support in the form of unemployment insurance or some other program for people put out of work who are struggling to afford food and rent. Only once the pandemic is well and truly behind us is a regular recovery possible.” [Vox / Dylan Matthews]