The country is in the worst unemployment crisis since the Great Depression because of Trump’s failures—and he continues to make it worse. 17.8 million workers are still out of work, and the June report does not account for all of the workers who have recently been laid off, some for a second time, after Trump’s failed leadership led to record coronavirus spikes and more than a dozen states being forced to pause reopening.

Not reflected in this report are the workers who have been laid off for a second time after more than a dozen states were forced to pause reopenings.

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

Washington Post: “The June jobs numbers were good — in part because they predate the new coronavirus surge.”

Business Insider: “Here are the 19 states and cities that have slowed or backtracked their reopenings so far.”

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 number of continuing unemployment claims increased from the prior week to 19.3 million, and 31 million Americans are receiving some form of unemployment benefits. 

CNN: “The Department of Labor reported Thursday that 1.4 million workers—more than expected—filed for first-time unemployment benefits last week. Continued claims, which count people filing at least two weeks in a row, stood at 19.3 million, slightly more than the revised number of the prior week.”

Business Insider: “The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs —PUA and state benefits — was about 31 million in the week ending June 13, an uptick from the previous week.”

Another 2.2 million Americans filed new claims for some form of unemployment assistance last week. 

New York Times: “More timely data, also released by the Labor Department on Thursday morning, showed that 1.4 million Americans filed new claims for state unemployment benefits last week, and more than 800,000 filed for benefits under the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program.”

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.”