- A dire new jobs report on Friday found that the US added just 245,000 jobs in November — less than half of October’s 610,000 jobs and the worst month since April, when the economy shed millions of jobs. [WSJ / Sarah Chaney Cambon]
- That number is bad news in its own right, but economists warn that there could be worse to come with the pandemic surging across the US. Next month, the US could again lose jobs for the first time since April. [Washington Post / Eli Rosenberg]
- And though the Labor Department report shows unemployment declining — it fell from 6.9 percent to 6.7 percent — there’s an unhappy explanation for that too. Adults are simply leaving the labor force, which means they are neither employed nor actively seeking employment. [NYT / Neil Irwin]
- All told, the US economy has recovered only a bit more than half of the jobs lost in March and April. According to NPR, employment levels are still 9.8 million jobs shy of pre-Covid levels. [NPR / Scott Horsley]
- Some experts have pointed to Friday’s numbers as evidence that the country needs another round of stimulus from Congress, particularly with more jobless benefits set to expire this month. [CNBC / Patti Domm]
- A federal eviction moratorium and student loan freeze will also run out at the end of December, deepening an already severe crisis for many Americans. Other measures, such as a $600 per week expanded unemployment benefit, expired unrenewed months ago. [Vox / Anna North]
- In a statement Friday, President-elect Joe Biden reiterated his call for Congress to act, writing that “this is a grim jobs report” that requires “urgent action. Americans need help and they need it now.” [Transition 46]
- And help may be coming: A new $908 billion Covid-19 relief package with bipartisan support gained traction on the Hill this week. Any bill that emerges from negotiations could be appended to an upcoming omnibus spending measure. [Politico / Caitlin Emma and Heather Caygle]
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