Unemployment Claims Rise; Fed Says Recovery Will Be Slow

Another week, and more misery resulting from "electing" a sub- moron who places his interests above the nation's:

Another 1.5 million people applied for unemployment insurance last week, adding to the tens of millions of people who have applied for the jobless benefits since the pandemic began and continuing a months-long drop in the number of initial claims.

The numbers seeking jobless benefits have remained at historically high levels for 12 weeks, since the coronavirus pandemic took hold in back in March, disrupting global supply chains and shuttering businesses for months.

The number gig and formerly self-employed workers who also applied for jobless benefits newly available to them under the expanded federal program went up to 705,000, from 620,000 the week before.

The total number of people currently receiving benefits edged down slightly to 20.9 million, from a revised 21.3 million the week previously, a staggering toll on the labor force. More than 44 million people have applied for unemployment benefits during the pandemic.

“That means 29 percent of the workforce has filed for unemployment claims during that period,” said Joseph Brusuelas, the chief economist at RSM. “Some may have returned to work. But that’s a stunning number nonetheless.”

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve is predicting a miraculous recovery  a slow recovery from the Trump Depression:

Federal Reserve leaders predict a slow recovery for the U.S. economy, with unemployment falling to 9.3 percent by the end of this year and to 6.5 percent by the end of 2021, after tens of millions of Americans lost their jobs in the stunning recession caused by the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

Fed Chair Jerome H. Powell stressed Wednesday that more aid from Congress and the central bank is likely to be needed, especially since a substantial number of Americans may never get their jobs back.

“Unemployment remains historically high,” Powell said during a news conference Wednesday. “My assumption is there will be a significant chunk ... well into the millions of people, who don’t get to go back to their old job ... and there may not be a job in that industry for them for some time.”

Bunker Boy isn't going to like that news.

Bunker Boy's measure of success, the New York Stock Exchange, didn't like that news, either:

U.S. markets pointed toward heavy losses Thursday as the Federal Reserve’s gloomy economic outlook, coupled with fears of a second wave of coronavirus infections, rattled investors.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 900 points, or 3 percent, while the Standard & Poor’s and Nasdaq composites also fell sharply. The slide contrasted sharply with the optimism earlier this week that propelled Nasdaq to a record high and above 10,000 for the first time, and pushed the S&P 500 into positive territory.

Most of us could have told all those "smart money" people that putting any faith in Bunker Boy's handling of the economy was bound to be brought to earth by the reality of his ongoing incompetence and failure of leadership.

Speaking of reality, there are now over 2 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 115,000 deaths, again very likely an under- count both of infections and deaths.  And states that re- opened their economies early, with prodding from Bunker Boy and his Republican enablers, are seeing spikes in coronavirus cases.