Four months after the COVID-19 pandemic largely closed the economy and left millions of Americans unemployed, employers continue to lay off staff at an all-time pace.
Approximately 1.2 million other people filed initial unemployment insurance programs, a rough move of layoffs, last week, the Department of Labor said Thursday, substantially below 1.4 million in the past week. Economists surveyed through Bloomberg estimate that 1.41 million employees are looking for benefits.
The sharp decline follows two weeks of increased claims, as coronavirus outbreaks in the south and west have led more than 20 states to stop or cancel the reopening of restaurants, bars, gyms, theaters and outlets. Previously, claim totals had declined over a 15-week era that included reopening businesses in many states.
However, last week’s general remains traditionally high. In addition to the reopening of the state, many companies have exhausted the refundable federal loans they have earned as long as they have retained or rehired staff, leading to companies suffering from passing some.
Applications for continued unemployment, which make up all Americans who still receive benefits with a week-long delay, also fell sharply to 16.1 million from about 17 million last week. This number has also declined, but it remains the highest and is increasingly vital, reflecting all the unemployed and others who have returned to work.
The count comes when unemployed personnel face the recent expiration of a $600 federal supplement for state unemployment and Congress remains stagnant as to whether and when the premium will be extended.
Recent maximum totals will be included in the August employment report.
Economists on average expect the July report, released Friday, to report 1.5 million task gains, adding hires and layoffs, but there is a large disparity in forecasts, with some experts predicting task losses and others that the wage bill has remained stable. The total is expected to decline due to payroll accumulation of 2.7 million in May and 4.8 million in June, an increase that recovered about a third of the 22 million jobs the economy reduced in the last two months.
Other measures of economic activity also involve a decrease. The number of small businesses that opened at the end of July has virtually un changed since the beginning of the month, according to Homebase, which manufactures software to make plans. And fewer workers worked a little less hours.
According to JPMorgan Chase, a tracking of spending through Chase’s credit and debit card holders showed a slight increase in spending between June and July.
And a Census Bureau survey on “household pulse” indicates that there were about 7 million fewer jobs between the June and July job surveys, Capital Economics wrote in study notes. He adds, however, that the knowledge of the pulse does not adjust seasonally and would possibly not sharply decrease school employment in early summer.