As Biden Delivers on Promises, Labor Market on the Path to Recovery
March 25, 2021
President Biden is delivering on his promises to get vaccines in people’s arms and money in people’s pockets. And while the country still has a long way to go to fully recover from the economic impact of the coronavirus, with President Biden’s leadership in combating the pandemic, our economy is showing signs it’s heading in the right direction.
The economy is headed in the right direction as U.S. jobless claims have dropped to the lowest number since the coronavirus pandemic began a year ago.
Associated Press: “The number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell sharply last week to 684,000, the fewest since the pandemic erupted a year ago and a sign that the economy is improving. Thursday’s report from the Labor Department showed that jobless claims fell from 781,000 the week before. It is the first time that weekly applications for jobless aid have fallen below 700,000 since mid-March of last year. Before the pandemic tore through the economy, applications had never topped that level.”
Last week, President Biden delivered on a major promise weeks ahead of schedule when he announced over 100 million vaccine shots had been administered.
Yahoo News: “Biden had promised to hit the mark on his 100th day in office, at the end of April, but with about 2.5 million people being vaccinated daily — up from about 900,000 daily doses during the last week of the Trump presidency — he will be able to fulfill that promise 42 days early.”
This week, President Biden fulfilled another promise when he announced that 100 million Americans received their stimulus checks.
Reuters: “The Biden administration will have distributed 100 million relief checks by Wednesday as part of a $1.9 trillion coronavirus stimulus package, President Joe Biden said on Tuesday. The U.S. Treasury on Monday said it had issued the latest round of economic impact payments, with many being mailed in the form of paper checks and debit cards. They will have an official pay date of Wednesday.”
Thanks to the American Rescue Plan, thousands of jobs have been protected and countless small businesses got the support they needed to keep their doors open.
CNN’s Pete Muntean: “American Airlines is telling 13,000 workers who received notices of April 1 furloughs ‘you can tear them up!’ House passage of $1.9 trillion stimulus bill extends airline Payroll Support Program once again.”
Washington Post: “Two airline giants said that they would cancel tens of thousands of planned layoffs because of aid earmarked for them in the $1.9 trillion stimulus measure passed by Congress this week, an early sign of job losses averted by the landmark package.”
MSNBC: “The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority was also moving forward with plans to cut roughly 2,400 positions, and it now won’t have to.”
Washington Post: “For the [Independent Restaurant Coalition], which formed as the pandemic was just sinking its teeth into the American economy, the vote capped a grueling, year-long effort to seek direct grants for a hospitality industry that in the past 12 months has shed 2 million jobs, lost an estimated $240 billion in revenue and seen 110,000 establishments close. ‘The cheers went up’ when the Senate passed the bill, said Colicchio, the chef, restaurateur and founder of Crafted Hospitality, a restaurant group based in New York City. ‘There are so many independent restaurants that are going to get a lifeline and stay open, and that will be great for the economy, for employment.’”