The pandemic jobs recovery has lost momentum in recent weeks, putting added pressure on Congress to enact more relief.
The number of new applications for unemployment benefits ticked up to 870,000 last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. New claims have not budged significantly in recent weeks, meaning that the labor market is still shedding jobs at rates unthinkable prior to the pandemic.
And half of adults who say they were laid off because of the coronavirus pandemic remain unemployed, according to a new Pew Research Center survey released Thursday.
“The labor market losses are stunning in that they show there isn’t enough work out there yet in the middle of September, nine months after the COVID-19 virus shut the economy down,” said Chris Rupkey, the chief financial economist for MUFG.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi moved Thursday to devise a pandemic relief package to restart talks with Republicans, having previously refused to budge from her negotiating position.
Some White House economists have suggested that further aid isn’t necessary to keep the recovery on track, but Senate Republicans and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are in favor of more relief.
Billionaire businessman Mark Cuban, meanwhile, said the government should disburse $ 1,000 via direct deposit every two weeks for the next two months.
“Those without [help] are struggling badly,” Cuban told CNBC. “We need to get them help.”
To date, more than 6.9 million COVID-19 infections and about 202,700 deaths have been confirmed in the United States.
An ensemble forecast published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Thursday projects there will be as many as 226,000 coronavirus deaths in the U.S. by Oct. 17.
The CDC forecast comprises projections from 41 modeling groups of expected deaths over the next four weeks. The ensemble forecast published Thursday predicts that 3,400 to 7,400 new deaths will likely be reported during the week ending Oct. 17. The nationwide death toll is expected to increase from about 214,000 to 226,000.
New York State will conduct its own review of coronavirus vaccines in late stages of development independent of the federal government’s review process, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday, citing fears that the development process has become too politicized. State officials don’t play a role in vaccine approval — that is up to the Food and Drug Administration. But under Cuomo’s plan, officials would help determine how the approved vaccine would be distributed throughout the state.
“Frankly, I’m not going to trust the federal government’s opinion, and I wouldn’t recommend to New Yorkers, based on the federal government’s opinion,” Cuomo said at a news briefing.
The European Union disease control agency warned that the recent uptick in new coronavirus cases in Spain, France, England, and others are of “high concern” and could reach peaks not seen since March, according to Spanish news outlet El Pais.
“In some member states, the situation now is worse than what it was during the peak in March,” said Stella Kyriakides, health commissioner of the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention. “The long-awaited and necessary lift of restrictions at the start of summer has led us to a state that we have continuously warned of.”
The Israeli government will tighten its second national lockdown after COVID-19 cases rose to roughly 5,000 per day last week, the New York Times reported.
The measures, which include mandatory business closures and limits on sizes of gatherings to 20 people, will go into effect Friday and last until mid-October. An exception will be made for Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish faith, so that a limited number of people can worship in synagogues in person.
Israel became the first major country to institute a second national lockdown on Sept. 13, just before Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year. As on Rosh Hashana, rabbis will be required to arrange worshipers into clusters of 20 to 50, wearing masks and separated by dividers. The number and size of groups permitted inside at once will depend on local infection rates.
United Airlines will offer rapid COVID-19 tests to passengers flying to Hawaii, allowing them to avoid the otherwise mandatory 14-day self-quarantine. Other airlines have signaled that they will start offering similar services. American Airlines asked for proposals from 150 rapid-testing providers in order for the airline to launch its preflight testing program.