Fed survey finds economy ‘downshifted’ in summer
U.S. economic activity “downshifted” in July and August because of rising concerns about the COVID-19 delta variant, as well as supply chain problems and labor shortages, the Federal Reserve’s latest survey of the nation’s business conditions revealed.
The Fed survey, released Wednesday, said the slowdown was largely attributable to a pullback in dining out, travel and tourism in most parts of the country, reflecting concerns about the spread of the delta variant.
The Fed also said some sectors of the economy had been constrained by supply chain disruptions and labor shortages. It noted particular weakness in auto sales attributed to low inventories caused by a shortage of computer chips.
“Economic growth downshifted slightly to a moderate pace in early July through August,” the report, known as the Beige Book, said. It was based on interviews done by the Fed’s 12 regional banks and was completed by Aug. 30. It will be used in discussions when Fed officials have their next interest rate meeting Sept. 21-22.
California jobless claims rise again
California workers filed 61,900 initial claims for unemployment during the week ending Sept. 4, up 5,600 from the 56,300 workers who filed such jobless claims the week before, the U.S, Labor Department reported Thursday.
The increase in claims halted a stretch of improvement for California during which jobless filings decreased for three weeks in a row.
The latest filings are 38% higher than what they averaged during January 2020 and February 2020, when jobless claims averaged 44,800 a week.
Last week, 310,000 workers nationwide filed initial claims for unemployment, a decrease of 35,000 from the 345,000 claims filed the week before.
Those numbers were adjusted by the Labor Department for seasonal variations.
The pace of U.S. hiring has weakened. Last week, the government reported that hiring slowed dramatically in August, with employers adding just 235,000 jobs after having added roughly a million in both June and July. Hiring plummeted in industries that require face-to-face contact with the public, notably restaurants, hotels and retail. Still, some jobs were added in other areas, and the unemployment rate actually dropped to 5.2% from 5.4%.
Last week, more than 8 million people lost all their unemployment benefits with the expiration of two federal programs that covered gig workers and people who have been jobless for more than six months. Those emergency programs were created in March 2020, when the pandemic first tore through the economy.
Biden toughens vaccine stance
President Joe Biden on Thursday ordered sweeping new federal vaccine requirements for as many as 100 million Americans — private-sector employees as well as health care workers and federal contractors — in an all-out effort to curb the surging COVID-19 delta variant.
Speaking at the White House, Biden sharply criticized the tens of millions of Americans who are not yet vaccinated, despite months of availability and incentives.
“We’ve been patient. But our patience is wearing thin, and your refusal has cost all of us,” he said. The unvaccinated minority “can cause a lot of damage, and they are.”
The expansive rules mandate that all employers with more than 100 workers require them to be vaccinated or test for the virus weekly, affecting about 80 million Americans.
And the roughly 17 million workers at health facilities that receive federal Medicare or Medicaid also will have to be fully vaccinated.
Biden also is requiring vaccination for employees of the executive branch and contractors who do business with the federal government — with no option to test out. That covers several million more workers.