15% Office Workers Back in New York

11/03/2020

751,000

Initial U.S unemployment totaled a seasonally adjusted 751,000 in the week ending Oct. 24, a decrease of 40,000 from the previous week’s revised level, the US Department of Labor reported. This number indicates that viral pandemic is forcing many employers to cut jobs. Unemployment rates fell in 30 states, including big drops in California, Texas and Florida, while claims rose significantly in Arizona, Illinois, and Michigan. Continuing claims, which track the aggregate total of Americans applied for jobless benefits for at least two weeks in a row– stood at 7.8 million, down 709,000 from the prior week’s revised level. Furthermore, for the week ending October 24, 51 states reported 359,667 workers applied for PUA (Pandemic Unemployment Assistance), a program for the self-employed and gig workers, the report shows.

100,000

Amazon.com Inc. announced that it’s hiring 100,000 additional seasonal employees in the United States and Canada for the upcoming holiday season peak. The e-commerce giant said that California, Texas, Maryland, Georgia and New Jersey are the top five states where it will hire seasonal workers. The new hire includes managing employees, operating robots, stowing, picking, packing and delivering orders, safety ambassadors and working in human resources, information technology and more. According to The Wall Street Journal report, the new roles bring Amazon’s total hiring to more than 400,000 since the beginning of the pandemic, pushing its total employment over 1 million for the first time. The company will have more than 700,000 employees in the U.S. once those positions are filled. Many of the seasonal workers will also receive bonus holiday incentives including sign-on bonuses at select locations, Amazon said.

15%

A new survey found that New York-based companies are offering increasingly generous incentives to bring employees back to offices. Only 15% of office workers in New York are expected back in the city’s office towers by the end of this year — down from August estimate of 26%, according to the survey released this week from the Partnership for New York City. Tech employers expect 49% of employees to return back to the office by July 2021 — down from 74% estimated as of August, while finance and insurance companies except 52% — down from 55%. The survey found that an average of 39% of employees who return to the office in 2021 will continue to work remotely at least 50% of the time. The total share of employees expected to return back to the office by July 2021 — decreased from 54% in August to 48% last month, according to the survey.

33.1

The U.S gross domestic product increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 33.1% in third quarter of 2020 –the fastest growth rate since the government began to track quarterly GDP data in 1947, the Commerce Department said. The gain came after a 31.4% plunge in the Q2 and was better than the 32% forecast from economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The historic rebound was largely driven by a resurgence of consumer spending, which accounts for nearly 70% of total GDP. Personal consumption increased 40.7% in the third quarter, while gross private domestic investment surged 83% amid a 59.3% increase on the residential side, the department reported.

1.9%

The Commerce Department data shows that overall durable goods surged 1.9% in September 2020 — the fifth consecutive monthly gain, followed by a smaller 0.4% increase in August. The increase in goods driven by a 4.1% rebound in orders for transportation equipment in September after slumping by 0.9% in August. Orders for motor vehicles and parts recovered 1.5% after falling 4.1% in August. Excluding transportation, new orders jumped by 0.8%. Excluding defense, they were 3.4% higher than the previous month. On the other hand, the report showed sharp drops in machinery and electrical equipment, appliances and components and computer and related products. The department said orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, increased by 1% last month after jumping by 2.1 percent in August.

1.4%

U.S. consumer spending increased 1.4% in September, following a 1% rise in August and above market forecasts of 1 percent, the Commerce Department reported. It marked the fifth straight month of gain, helping the economy dig further out from the deep hole created by the pandemic. The report showed that rise in consumer spending in September coincided with a 0.9% increase in personal income after a sharp 2.5% decline in August. The September report showed that consumers boosted purchases of goods like new motor vehicles, clothing and footwear. Spending on durable goods such as autos shot up 3% while nondurable goods, such as clothing and food, rose by a smaller 1.5%, the report shows.

39%

A new poll released by The Education Trust–New York reveals that nearly half of NYC’s parents say remote learning this fall has been successfully working. The survey finds only 39% of parents’ rate remote learning as successful and 18% of parents say their child is not participating in remote learning right now — these low satisfaction ratings are largely driven by parents from low-income families and among parents of color. Meanwhile, 68% of parents rate remote learning as better than last spring. New York parents are positive about their school handling the coronavirus, rated 75% excellent, which is an 8-points increase from August (67%). The online poll (desktop and mobile) was conducted among 800 parents whose children attend a public school in New York state.