1.2M seek jobless aid
Still applying despite end of the $600 bonus check
Nearly 1.2 million laid-off Americans applied for state unemployment benefits last week, evidence that the coronavirus keeps forcing companies to slash jobs just as a critical $600 weekly federal jobless payment has expired.
The government’s report Thursday did offer a smidgen of hopeful news: The number of jobless claims declined by 249,000 from the previous week, after rising for two straight weeks, and it was the lowest total since mid-March.
There was a positive sign in Massachusetts, too, where initial claims dropped by 4,428, to 15,218.
Still, claims nationally remain at high levels: It is the 20th straight week that at least 1 million people have sought jobless aid. Before the pandemic hit hard in March, the number of Americans seeking unemployment checks had never surpassed 700,000 in a week.
Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, called the drop in weekly claims “a move in the right direction.” But in a research note, she added:
“Repeated shutdowns for virus containment remain a threat to the labor market, which is already weak. The possibility of mounting layoffs that could become permanent is high. Without effective virus containment, the recovery remains at risk from ongoing job losses that could further restrain incomes and spending.”
The pandemic, the lockdowns meant to contain it and the wariness of many
Americans to venture back out to eat, shop or travel have delivered a devastating blow to the economy despite the government’s emergency rescue efforts.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, along with authorities in New York and Connecticut, placed new travel restrictions on people entering the state from Rhode Island. The Massachusetts order requires they must now quarantine for 14 days or produce a negative COVID-19 test result from the past 72 hours.
In Florida, whose tourism industry has been pummeled by the pandemic, John Brenner has lost his position as a hotel manager. A 38-year-old from Plantation, Fla., Brenner has now been out of work for four months.
Florida’s weekly unemployment aid is capped at $275 a week, so “I’m quite reliant on that extra $600,” Brenner said.
“That extra $600 put me at just about what I was making when I was working,” he said. “And I’d much rather be working. I’m going very stircrazy.”
All told, 16.1 million people are collecting traditional unemployment benefits from their state. For months, the unemployed had also been receiving the $600 a week in federal jobless aid on top of their state benefit. But the federal payment expired last week. Congress is engaged in prolonged negotiations over renewing the federal benefit, which would likely be extended at a reduced level.