DNC on Latest Unemployment Numbers

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

“Another week of the Trump administration, another week of historic economic hardship for millions of working families. 50 million American workers have now had to apply for unemployment benefits. For the 16th consecutive week, more than a million Americans have filed for unemployment claims. And yesterday, our nation hit another record high for new coronavirus cases.

“It didn’t have to be this bad. Trump failed to contain this virus and now cases are surging across the country, states are being forced to close once more, and people are losing their jobs and their lives every single day. This is Donald Trump’s America. This is the unprecedented  hardship and heartbreak his incompetence has caused. We need real leadership in the White House. We need a president with a plan to bring us together and move us forward, to contain this pandemic and lift us from recession, to create good-paying jobs and revitalize American manufacturing, to invest in American innovation and ingenuity. Joe Biden has a vision to do just that.”

The full picture of Trump’s economy:

Last week, 2.3 million Americans filed new claims for some form of unemployment assistance—this crisis is not improving.

CBS News: “Jobless claims remain high, with 2.3 million seeking aid last week.”

Trump continues to make things worse. Workers are getting laid off for a second time as states are forced to pause reopenings.

Washington Post: “The pandemic map of the United States burned bright red Monday, with the number of new coronavirus infections during the first six days of July nearing 300,000 as more states and cities moved to reimpose shutdown orders.”

Washington Post: “Workers are getting laid off for a second time, as the virus’s surge puts reopenings on hold”

The unemployment rate is still higher than any period since WWII at 11.1%, and would be even higher if not for misclassification issues in the data. 

New York Times: “The unemployment rate fell to 11.1 percent, down from a peak of 14.7 percent in April but still higher than in any previous period since World War II. The rate would have been about one percentage point higher had it not been for persistent data-collection problems, the Labor Department said.”

The unemployment rate for minorities, especially Black Americans, remains far higher than for White Americans.

New York Times: “The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 11.1 percent in June, data released Thursday showed, but minority unemployment remained higher — especially for Black workers.  Black adults saw their unemployment rate ease to 15.4 percent, the data showed. Hispanic unemployment fell to 14.5 percent in June, compared to 17.6 percent in May. The Asian unemployment rate stood at 13.8 percent, down from 15 percent the prior month.”

The number of permanent job losses rose by 588,000 in June to 2.9 million. 

Bureau of Labor Statistics: “The number of permanent job losers continued to rise, increasing by 588,000 to 2.9 million in June.”

Republicans refuse to support extending enhanced unemployment benefits and are instead prioritizing more tax cuts for investors and corporations.

NBC News: “The $600 federal unemployment benefit ends this month. GOP senators say enough already.”

NBC News: “In interviews By NBC News with nearly a dozen GOP senators on Tuesday, one consistent theme emerged: They are certain they don’t want to extend the $600 per week in emergency jobless compensation because they widely agree that it is motivating people to stay out of work.”

Washington Post: “While it is clear Trump is eager to pass a payroll tax cut, a cut to taxes on capital gains, and deductions for the restaurant and entertainment industries, the administration has not formulated a concrete proposal, and these ideas have largely been dismissed by Congressional lawmakers.”