Report Reveals Jobless Claim Has Fallen To Post-Pandemic Low of 360,000
Michael Cantrell
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According to a brand new report from the Labor Department, new applications for unemployment benefits fell by 26,000 last week, making the total number 360,000.
These new numbers actually match the ones made by forecasters — that’s a rarity, right? — and is actually lower than the previous week’s total of 386,000 filings.
The new numbers follow the June jobs report, which beat expectations and found that 850,000 new jobs were added in June, although the unemployment rate slightly increased from 5.8% to 5.9%. The consensus among economists was that 700,000 jobs would be added.
“The current situation with the U.S. economy is truly remarkable. It features what will likely be the strongest annual growth in decades, but currently with a still heightened level of unemployment,” said Mark Hamrick, who serves as the senior economic analyst at Bankrate, as a response to the brand new numbers.
President Joe Biden hailed the jobs report as “historic progress” and said the United States is emerging from the “worst crisis in 100 years.” He said the economic recovery was a “direct result of the American Rescue Plan.”
Despite the progress, some economists worry that the labor market is being held back by supercharged federal unemployment benefits. Twenty-six states have opted out of the program early, blaming it for offering a more attractive source of income than lower-wage jobs, especially those in the leisure and hospitality industry.
This is a little bit of good news, but it doesn’t change the fact that much of the agony Americans are experiencing economically is due to the failures of Democrats to properly balance their handling of the COVID-19 pandemic so that businesses wouldn’t go under and folks would be able to provide for their families.
Had we not shut down for months on end last year, had Dr. Anthony Fauci and other “scientists” been forthright with what was happening, we would be experiencing a much different economy right now.
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