DNC on July Jobs Report

After the U.S. Department of Labor released the latest jobs and unemployment numbers, DNC Chair and former Labor Secretary Tom Perez issued the following statement:

“Donald Trump’s mismanagement of this crisis continues to wreak havoc on our economy and devastate millions of families. More than 30 million Americans are receiving some form of unemployment relief, and over 16 million Americans are unemployed. Today’s jobs report reflects a slowdown in hiring after Trump’s failure to contain the virus forced many states back into lockdown. America is hurting, and we’re still 12.9 million jobs under where we were in February.

“It didn’t have to be this bad. And it doesn’t have to stay this bad. Not if we take decisive action to elect Joe Biden as the next president of the United States. Americans have lost millions of jobs under Donald Trump. And on November 3, Donald Trump is going to lose his job in the White House.”

16.3 million Amerians are unemployed and the pace of job growth slowed considerably in July.

U.S. News: “Total unemployment fell by 1.4 million to 16.3 million.”

Fox Business: “The U.S. economy added 1.8 million jobs in July even as a wave of new coronavirus cases forced most states to pause or reverse their reopenings, causing a slight pullback in hiring. Still, the payroll increase reported Friday by the Labor Department was well below the 4.8 million jobs created in June, which was the highest recorded.”

The unemployment rate is higher than any period since WWII at 10.2%, and would be even higher if not for ongoing misclassification issues in the data. 

Politico: “The unemployment rate fell to 10.2 percent in July, the Labor Department reported Friday. That’s down from a peak of 14.7 percent in April, but still far above the 3.5 percent rate in February before the coronavirus pandemic led to mass economic shutdowns across the country.”

As many as 31.3 million Americans are receiving some form of unemployment relief, and more than 55 million have sought relief since mid March.

Reuters: “The number of Americans seeking jobless benefits fell last week, but a staggering 31.3 million people were receiving unemployment checks in mid-July, suggesting the labor market was stalling as the country battles a resurgence in new COVID-19 cases that is threatening a budding economic recovery.”

USA Today: “More than 55 million Americans have sought jobless benefits since state shutdowns began in mid-March.”

For an unprecedented 20th consecutive week, more than a million Americans have filed new unemployment claims.

ABC News: “For 20 straight weeks, the number of Americans who have lost their jobs and filed for unemployment insurance has topped 1 million. This unprecedented streak of weekly jobless claims has shattered all historical records.”

GDP fell by an unprecedented 32.9% annualized rate last quarter — more than three times the previous record.

Politico: “The U.S. economy crashed in historic fashion this year — shrinking at a nearly 33 percent annualized pace in the second quarter — as the coronavirus pandemic ravaged businesses and sent joblessness soaring.”

National Public Radio: “The economic shock in April, May and June was more than three times as sharp as the previous record — 10% in 1958 — and nearly four times the worst quarter during the Great Recession.”

More than 100,000 small businesses have closed for good, with Black-owned businesses  shutting down at twice the rate.

Washington Post: “More than 100,000 small businesses have closed forever as the nation’s pandemic toll escalates”

Bloomberg: “Black-owned small businesses are twice as likely to shutter as small businesses overall during the coronavirus pandemic … Data show a 41% drop in the number of active small business owners who are Black from February to April, compared to 22% of owners overall, according to the study. Latinx business owners fell by 32%, while Asian business owners dropped 26% and white business owners retreated 17%.”

Trump and Republicans let enhanced unemployment benefits expire for tens of millions, and pushed a plan to slash benefits by more than 40% on average.

Wall Street Journal: “Lapse in Extra Unemployment Benefits to Hurt U.S. Recovery, Economists Say”

CNBC: “GOP relief plan slashes unemployment benefits by 43% for average worker”