Latest weekly jobless claims fall to 684,000, lowest since pandemic began
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Initial weekly jobless claims fell to 684,000 last week, the lowest weekly total since the pandemic began, according to data released Thursday by the Department of Labor.
It's the first time since last March that claims for first-time unemployment have fallen below the 700,000 mark, and roundly beats economist expectations for 735,000 for the week ending March 20, 2021.
Continuing claims, which log ongoing benefits, fell to 3.87 million, down by 264,000. Total claims are still more than four times their pre-pandemic level.
"Things have improved over the last year, but there are still millions of people dealing with real economic pain," said AnnElizabeth Konkel, economist at Indeed Hiring Lab. "Increased vaccinations are hopefully the beginning of the end. Once the public health situation is improved, a full recovery can finally take place."
Policymakers have been closely watching employment data for signs that the economy is improving, as the number of vaccinations increases, restrictive measures on businesses are lifted in many states, and money from President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion emergency stimulus package begins to circulate.
Biden said last week that the United States will reach his goal of administering 100 million coronavirus vaccination shots ahead of schedule, hitting the milestone as 100 million stimulus checks go out.
But, while fewer people are losing their job, economic pain persists for millions of people.
"About 19 million Americans are on some form of unemployment assistance. True healing will take many more months to come," said Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate.
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I am taking bets that Trump will try to take the credit.
It definitely isn't Biden and the Democrats doing.
Try the Red states that have reopened their economies despite Joe's criticisms.
Democrats have made it more profitable to stay on long term unemployment than to take a job. Businesses are looking for workers; and the unemployment rate is still very high. That is a real disconnect that needs addressing.
Considering Obama took credit for the economy years after he was out of office.....
What are the odds on Trump sycophants giving Trump credit?
It certainly isn't attributable to anything Biden has done so far
What are the odds the same Obama sycophants who gave Obama credit for the economy in 2019 will refuse to give Trump credit for results a couple months after he left office?
I don't know. Obama hasn't been in office for 5 years and I haven't heard anyone give him credit for the economy.
How do you know? I haven't mentioned anything Biden.
You know how partisanship works, right? A PotUS will generally get credit or blame for whatever happens to the economy while in office. If good, the supporters will give a former PotUS extended credit for as long as the economy remains good but will immediately blame the successor if the economy is bad. In contrast, the party of the sitting PotUS will insist that this PotUS get credit for a continuing good economy from inauguration on but will blame the former PotUS indefinitely if the economy was bad (inherited a bad economy).
In short, partisan politics blames the PotUS of the other party and gives credit to the PotUS of their party. It is often irrational but that is how it goes.
Now, as for economies, a PotUS can screw up a good economy but there is very little a PotUS can do to grow a strong economy. Giving a PotUS credit for a good economy or blame for a bad economy is almost like faulting the captain of a cruise ship for the turbulence of the waters. Yeah, there is something the captain can do, but nature is really calling the shots.
So, putting this together, neither Trump nor Biden deserve much credit for the economy. We can credit Trump with not screwing the economy up (other than his abysmal failure with COVID-19). And it is far too early to give Biden any credit (or blame if it were the case) for the current economy.
Who cares what a sycophant does? Sycophants by definition operate according to the whims of their authority figure.
So you weren't on this site for the Trump Presidency then?
Yes, and this site was filled with people crediting Obama for what took place under Trump's watch.
So, putting this together, neither Trump nor Biden deserve much credit for the economy.
I don't disagree with you on substance. A President has limited power over an economy. It's bad enough that a sitting President is credited with almost preternatural powers over the economy while in office, but any honest reader of this site has to recall the amount of people here crediting Obama for what happened years after he was out of office. To see the same people turn around and scoff at the idea of crediting Trump for economic situation 60 days after Trump left office is simply too much hypocrisy to let pass
Trump handed Biden an economy that is going gangbusters. We'll see what Biden does with it .
can credit Trump with not screwing the economy up (other than his abysmal failure with COVID-19).
The US economy performed pretty well under covid. Compare it to the EU.
No. Trump's presidency is over. Done! I've been on the NT site since before Trump's Presidency and I'm still here now. But it's also clear some people have a hard time accepting Trump's election loss and continue to latch onto him and sing his praises. In fact, I commented relatively little on Trump during his presidency until he botched the Covid response. At that point, I became more vocal. Still not as much as other people here though.
Oh. You must have somehow missed the Obama sycophants constantly crediting Obama for any economic good news that took place years into Trump's Presidency. Hard to imagine how anyone could have missed that.
Yeah, I guess I did miss that. Partisans are partisans. I certainly do not recall anyone crediting Obama now nor recently for a good economy of a couple years ago.
Did you see me make that credit? ( Answer: no)
Where do you see me asserting that this did not happen? To wit, why are you making this point in a reply?
Well then take it up with those who are being hypocritical. Partisan thinking leads to hypocrisy so I am not surprised.
Yes. And this same economy will slow down and whoever is in office will be blamed for it. Let's say that is slows down in 2022. Biden will not be given credit by his opponents for keeping the economy going during 2021 but he will be blamed as the reason for the economic slowdown in 2022. The facts (whatever they might be) will be irrelevant.
My point was that Trump's downplaying of the pandemic encouraged people to not take precautions as seriously which naturally would have the effect of increasing the number of infections. The degree is unquantifiable but the logic is sound. The psychology of the cases running up against our limits triggered more precautions (shut-downs) that arguably would not have been required if we had all sucked it up and stayed away from each other (taking the pandemic seriously).
The economy took the hit well (much better than I had expected) in spite of Trump's incompetence.
If Trump were competent and took the pandemic seriously, then he might have been able to mitigate some of the damage to the economy and possibly secure a reelection.
Trump did not and does not care about the people. He cares about himself and will shamelessly exploit and/or trash virtually every other human being to get what he wants.
Indeed. I've said before that Trump treated the office of the Presidency like a reality show. He was only interested in scoring political and popularity points.