More than 2 million Americans file new jobless claims

[brooklynite]

Source: The Hill

Roughly 2.1 million Americans filed new claims for jobless benefits in the week between May 17 and 23 as President Trump and governors push some states to loosen coronavirus-related restrictions, according to data released by the Labor Department on Thursday.

In the week ending May 23, a seasonally-adjusted 2,123,000 Americans filed initial claims from unemployment benefits, falling from a revised total of 2,446,000 applications filed the week before.

The non-seasonally adjusted number of new jobless claims, which some economists deem a better gauge of the economic downturn caused by COVID-19, totaled 1,914,958 in the week ending May 23.


Since the week ending March 22, more than 40 million Americans have filed initial claims for unemployment benefits as the spread of COVID-19 and the restrictions imposed to slow it forced thousands of businesses to close up shop. The national unemployment rate rose to 14.7 percent in April and 14.5 percent of the U.S. workforce had received jobless benefits as of the week ending May 16, according to the Labor Department.

Read more: https://thehill.com/policy/finance/499876-more-than-2-million-americans-file-new-jobless-claims

[UpInArms]

1. U.S. initial jobless claims rise 2.12 million in latest week while continuing claims decline

The Labor Department said 2.12 million unemployed Americans applied for state unemployment benefits in the week ended May 23, the Labor Department said Thursday. That's down from 2.4 million in the prior week. The increase was in line with economists surveyed by MarketWatch. A new federal relief program for self-employed and so-called "gig" workers like Uber drivers, totaled 1.2 million last week. The number of people already collecting economic benefits, known as continuing claims, fell 3.86 million to 21.05 million. These claims are reported with a one-week lag.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-initial-jobless-claims-rise-212-million-in-latest-week-while-continuing-claims-decline-2020-05-28?mod=mw_latestnews

[bucolic_frolic]

2. Reopening bounce will be encouraging, then stall and stay there

There is not the aggregate spending to make reopening profitable for other than large businesses.

Worse, money is not reaching the paycheck-to-paycheck workers who normally spend everything. Instead it's going to higher earners. The wisdom of those still employed getting stim checks, or those laid off collecting unemployment and stim, needs to be explained. Some of the have-somes have far eclipsed the have-nots. Unemployment + stim + stim for children made for a payday and then some, for some households.

Worse yet, Powell is injecting money into the economy to businesses, he's able to buy corporate bonds.

Worst of all, money is free-flowing at the top while production is contracting. If money ever does touch the hands of spenders, we have higher demand and lower supply. You can see it in the supermarkets, you can also see it online. Laptops are scarce except for upscale models, and any remaining 'casual use' pcs are going for twice what they did in December. That equation will be repeated.

I know, I just wrote aggregate spending is weak, masses of consumers don't have money, and we already have inflation. I mean inflation in high-demand items - food, laptops (because every home worker needs one).