Unemployment claims: Another 1 million Americans filed for unemployment
Continued jobless claims, which count people filing at least two weeks in a row, stood at 14.5 million on a seasonally adjusted basis. The on-going decline in continued claims is a good sign that some people who lost their jobs in this crisis are returning to work.
Without the seasonal adjustments, which smooth out the data in normal times but are a distortion during the pandemic, the picture looks slightly different but not necessarily better: initial unadjusted claims stood at 821,591 last week. But, on top of that, 607,806 Americans — more than in the prior week — filed claims for pandemic unemployment assistance, one of the programs Congress devised to help workers who don’t have access to the regular government programs, such as the self-employed. That brings the total of unadjusted first-time claims to 1.4 million.
All in all, 27 million American workers filed for some form of jobless assistance under various government programs during the week ending August 8, representing a decrease of around 1 million claims — but still highlighting that this jobs crisis remains in full force.
The Trump administration and some Republican lawmakers have claimed that the $600-a-week benefits have paid many Americans more than they would have made on their jobs. The supplemental benefit has kept people from rejoining the labor force, they argued.
“So far there is no indication yet that the expiration of an extra $600 per week in UI benefits at the end of July 31 has led to a big drop in unemployment,” said PNC’s chief economist Gus Faucher in emailed comments.
Deep economic dive
The GDP update included corporate profits, which decreased by $227 billion in the quarter. That was a significant decline, but it was less than in the first three months of the year. The pandemic lockdown straddled the first and second quarters, beginning in March with restrictions starting to loosen in April.
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