Unemployment Numbers out Today

This is not a recovery

Initial claims were unchanged at 884,000, which is still really awful:

The number of people seeking and collecting unemployment benefits has remained at historically high levels in recent weeks, a sign the labor-market recovery is losing steam six months after the pandemic struck the U.S.

Unemployment claims were unchanged at 884,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday. Claims fell steadily for weeks after hitting a peak of about 7 million in March, but the pace of descent has slowed and claims remain above the prepandemic record of 695,000.

The number of workers collecting state unemployment benefits also has dropped from highs reached earlier in the pandemic, but is still elevated. So-called continuing claims increased to about 13.4 million at the end of August.

………

The increase in the number of job postings, a real-time measure of labor-market activity, has markedly slowed since late July, and last week stood about 20% below 2019 levels, according to data from job-search site Indeed.com.

And remember, the pump priming of the original aid bill has ended, and Mitch McConnell has no interests in passing another bill, he just want to score political points, and as the heating season begins, and internal becomes drier, Covid will be more contagious.

We are f%$#ed.