Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
1.2 Million Seek Jobless Aid After $600 Federal Check Ends
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
August 6, 2020

Share

WASHINGTON — Nearly 1.2 million laid-off Americans applied for state unemployment benefits last week, evidence that the coronavirus keeps forcing companies to slash jobs just as a critical $600 weekly federal jobless payment has expired.

The government’s report Thursday did offer a smidgen of hopeful news: The number of jobless claims declined by 249,000 from the previous week, after rising for two straight weeks, and it was the lowest total since mid-March.

The government’s report Thursday did offer a smidgen of hopeful news: The number of jobless claims declined by 249,000 from the previous week, after rising for two straight weeks, and it was the lowest total since mid-March.

Still, claims remain at alarmingly high levels: It is the 20th straight week that at least 1 million people have sought jobless aid. Before the pandemic hit hard in March, the number of Americans seeking unemployment checks had never surpassed 700,000 in a week, not even during the Great Recession of 2007-2009.

Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, called the drop in weekly claims “a move in the right direction.” But in a research note, she added:

“Repeated shutdowns for virus containment remain a threat to the labor market, which is already weak. The possibility of mounting layoffs that could become permanent is high. Without effective virus containment, the recovery remains at risk from ongoing job losses that could further restrain incomes and spending.”

The pandemic, the lockdowns meant to contain it and the wariness of many Americans to venture back out to eat, shop or travel have delivered a devastating blow to the economy despite the government’s emergency rescue efforts. The nation’s gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic output, shrank at an annual rate of nearly 33% from April through June. It was by far the worst quarterly fall on record, though the economy has rebounded somewhat since then.

Pace of Hiring Is Clearly Slowing

On Friday, the government is expected to report a sizable job gain for July — 1.6 million. Yet so deeply did employers slash payrolls after the pandemic paralyzed the economy in March that even July’s expected gain would mean that barely 40% of the jobs lost to the coronavirus have been recovered.

And the pace of hiring is clearly slowing. A resurgence of cases in the South and the West has spread elsewhere and upended hopes for a speedy economic recovery as bars, restaurants and other businesses have had to delay or reverse plans to reopen and rehire staff.

All told, 16.1 million people are collecting traditional unemployment benefits from their state. For months, the unemployed had also been receiving the $600 a week in federal jobless aid on top of their state benefit. But the federal payment expired last week. Congress is engaged in prolonged negotiations over renewing the federal benefit, which would likely be extended at a reduced level.

In the meantime, millions of the unemployed suddenly have less money to pay for essentials. Many of them are among the 23 million people nationwide who are at risk of being evicted from their homes, according to The Aspen Institute, as moratoriums enacted because of the coronavirus expire.

Last week, an additional 656,000 people applied for jobless aid under a program that has extended eligibility for the first time to self-employed and gig workers. That figure isn’t adjusted for seasonal trends, so it’s reported separately.

The Labor Department said Thursday that a total of 31.3 million people are now receiving some form of unemployment benefits, though the figure may be inflated by double-counting by some states.

A study released Monday by Cornell University found that 31% of those laid off or furloughed because of the pandemic had been laid off a second time. An additional 26% of people who were called back to work reported being told that they might lose their jobs again.

Florida’s Weekly Unemployment Aid Is Capped at $275 a Week

After the springtime lockdowns, restaurants and bars had begun to reopen. Yet many soon had to re-close as viral cases surged, especially in the Sun Belt. In Texas, for instance, just 26% of bars were closed on June 21. Two weeks later, the figure had shut up to 74%, though it has since come down slightly, according to the data firm Womply.

In Florida, whose tourism industry has been pummeled by the pandemic, John Brenner has lost his position as a hotel manager. A 38-year-old from Plantation, Florida, Brenner has now been out of work for four months.

In Florida, whose tourism industry has been pummeled by the pandemic, John Brenner has lost his position as a hotel manager. A 38-year-old from Plantation, Florida, Brenner has now been out of work for four months.

Florida’s weekly unemployment aid is capped at $275 a week, so “I’m quite reliant on that extra $600,” Brenner said.

“That extra $600 put me at just about what I was making when I was working,” he said. “And I’d much rather be working. I’m going very stir-crazy.”

The stress, fear and sadness over prolonged unemployment, Brenner said, have diminished everything from his diet to his ability to sleep. He said he’s angry that the U.S. Senate has balked at extending the extra unemployment aid at its current level.

“The anxiety the Senate is giving me isn’t helping much,’’ Brenner said.

Clover Williams, a teacher in Gallup, New Mexico, said she was laid off “right when the thing runs out — the extra $600 runs out.’’

She received one unemployment check that included the $600 payment. Without it, Williams, 63, worries that she won’t be able to pay her utility bills or medical expenses.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Newsom Wants to Bypass Trump Tariffs With Direct CA Trade Deals

DON'T MISS

Markets Plunge With S&P 500 Down 6% and Dow Down 2,200 After China Retaliates

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Searching for Missing 12-Year-Old Girl

DON'T MISS

Madera Community College Unveils New Multicultural and Veterans Center

DON'T MISS

Fusion Energy Race Is On. Two Local Lawmakers Want California to Lead the Way

DON'T MISS

Saturday’s Spring Fest to Showcase Free, Low-Cost Activities for Fresno Kids

DON'T MISS

LA County Reaches $4 Billion Agreement to Settle Sexual Abuse Claims at Juvenile Facilities

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Deadly Marijuana DUI Crash

DON'T MISS

Judge Says US Must Return Maryland Man Who Was Mistakenly Deported to El Salvador Prison

DON'T MISS

These Fresno First-Graders Are Topping Their Peers in Reading

UP NEXT

USC’s JuJu Watkins Named AP Player of the Year After Historic Sophomore Season

UP NEXT

Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman Lands on Injured List Following Fall in His Shower at Home

UP NEXT

How Trump’s Latest Tariffs Could Affect Your Wallet

UP NEXT

Curry Scores 37 Points and Warriors Beat Lakers in a Potential First-Round Playoff Preview

UP NEXT

Measles Spreads to Central Texas; 5 States Have Active Outbreaks

UP NEXT

Startup Offers Controversial Microplastic Blood Cleansing Treatment

UP NEXT

Pence Will Receive the Profile in Courage Award From the JFK Library for His Actions on Jan. 6

UP NEXT

Flores Homers, Matos and Wade Also Go Deep to Help Giants Cap Sweep of Astros

UP NEXT

Trump Proposes Tax Deduction for Auto Loan Interest on US-Made Cars

UP NEXT

Western US Sees Sharp Increase in Extreme Weather Impact

Madera Community College Unveils New Multicultural and Veterans Center

7 hours ago

Fusion Energy Race Is On. Two Local Lawmakers Want California to Lead the Way

7 hours ago

Saturday’s Spring Fest to Showcase Free, Low-Cost Activities for Fresno Kids

7 hours ago

LA County Reaches $4 Billion Agreement to Settle Sexual Abuse Claims at Juvenile Facilities

8 hours ago

Fresno Man Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Deadly Marijuana DUI Crash

8 hours ago

Judge Says US Must Return Maryland Man Who Was Mistakenly Deported to El Salvador Prison

8 hours ago

These Fresno First-Graders Are Topping Their Peers in Reading

9 hours ago

Fresno Burial Ceremony to Honor Five Abandoned Babies Set for Saturday

9 hours ago

Visalia Man Arrested for Soliciting Sex From Minor in Kingsburg

10 hours ago

Camalah Saleh Cruises to Win in Stormy Fresno State Student Elections

11 hours ago

Newsom Wants to Bypass Trump Tariffs With Direct CA Trade Deals

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday asked exporting countries worldwide to spare California their retaliatory tariffs, saying he plans to pursue dir...

6 hours ago

6 hours ago

Newsom Wants to Bypass Trump Tariffs With Direct CA Trade Deals

Specialist Anthony Matesic works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP/Richard Drew)
6 hours ago

Markets Plunge With S&P 500 Down 6% and Dow Down 2,200 After China Retaliates

Fresno police are searching for Unique Hernandez, 12, last seen on Friday, April 4, 2025, near Inyo Street and Maple Avenue, wearing all black clothing and carrying a black backpack. (Fresno PD)
6 hours ago

Fresno Police Searching for Missing 12-Year-Old Girl

7 hours ago

Madera Community College Unveils New Multicultural and Veterans Center

7 hours ago

Fusion Energy Race Is On. Two Local Lawmakers Want California to Lead the Way

7 hours ago

Saturday’s Spring Fest to Showcase Free, Low-Cost Activities for Fresno Kids

8 hours ago

LA County Reaches $4 Billion Agreement to Settle Sexual Abuse Claims at Juvenile Facilities

Antonio de Jesus Orozco Montes Deoca, 30, was sentenced on Friday, March 4, 2025, to 14 years and 8 months in prison for a deadly marijuana DUI crash in 2022 that killed one woman and injured four others. (GV Wire Composite)
8 hours ago

Fresno Man Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Deadly Marijuana DUI Crash

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend