U.S Unemployment Rate Rose Quickly

3/9/2021

379,000

The U.S. economy added 379,000 new jobs in February — a hopeful sign that job numbers topped many economists’ expectations and marked the second straight month of labor-market expansion, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported. Meanwhile, the national unemployment rate dropped from 6.3% in January to 6.2% in February. According to the Labor Department, the notable job gains in February occurred in leisure and hospitality as employment increased by 355,000, bars and restaurants added 286,000, retail trade (41,000), education and health services (44,000), professional and business services added 63,000 jobs, the report shows. We’ve recovered less than 60% of all the jobs lost since the start of the pandemic and will likely be next year at the earliest that we get them all back, said Dan North, chief economist for North America.

745,000

The U.S unemployment rate rose quickly when compared with the other developed countries during the pandemic. The number of Americans seeking new claims for state unemployment benefits rose to 745,000 in the week ending February 27, the U.S. Labor Department reported. The figure is an increase of 9,000 from the previous week’s revised level. Meanwhile, continuing claims, which track the aggregate total of Americans applied for unemployment benefits, fell to 4.3 million from 4.4 million. Furthermore, 53 states reported 436,696 workers applied for PUA, a program for the self-employed and gig workers, the report shows. For the week ending February 20, Illinois (6,014), Missouri (5,624) and Tennessee (3,987) states saw the largest increases in initial claims, while California (49,138), Ohio (45,189) and New York (9,117) posted the largest decreases.

1.8%

The U.S. economy is anticipated to grow 1.8% a year over the next three decades, up from the previous projection of 1.6%, the Congressional Budget Office reported. The latest projection is smaller-than-expected due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. national debt is likely expected to double to 202% of U.S. gross domestic product by 2050 — a record high due to an increase in rising costs for healthcare and debt service. Federal debt is expected to reach 102% of G.D.P. by the end of this year, and real GDP will grow by 3.7 percent due to huge spending associated with the coronavirus pandemic. The C.B.O. warned that higher debt levels can push up borrowing costs, slow economic output and raise the risk of a fiscal crisis.

3.4%

The U.S. Department of Commerce reported that new orders for durable goods rose 3.4% to $256.6 billion in January — the figure is much larger-than-expected led by a surge in aircraft orders. The increase marked the ninth consecutive monthly gain, followed by a 1.2% December growth. The department said that increase is driven by a 63.5% rebound in orders for defense aircraft and parts in January after slumping by 1% in December while orders for nondefense aircraft and parts surged 389.9%. Orders for computers and machinery have risen to 3.4% of $256.6 billion in January compared with December. Excluding transportation, overall durable goods increased 1.4%. Excluding defense, new orders rose 2.3%, the report shows.

10%

Personal income saw its biggest monthly gain in January, the U.S. Census Bureau report shows. The U.S personal income rose to $1,954.7 billion (10 %) after 0.6% increase in December. The figure marked the second largest gain on record, eclipsed only by last April’s gain. In January, household income also increased by 13% led by $600 checks issued as part of Congress’s latest aid package. Americans were quickly spending their stimulus checks on buying goods, driving retail sales up and pushing overall consumption was up $340.9 billion (2.4 percent) — the first gain in three months. According to CNBC, the personal consumption expenditures index was increased 0.3% in January, slightly above the 0.2% forecast.

$7.25

In the United States, the current federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour and it was unchanged since 2009. Its minimum wage marked the lowest level in more than a decade and at nearly the same level as in 1954, while 1968 marked the good year for minimum wage earners, The Wall Street Journal reported. In 1968, minimum wage workers paid less for any type of living expense including food and healthcare to entertainment and larger ticket purchases. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, there were 29 states with a minimum wage above the federal minimum wage ranging from $8.65 in Florida to $15 in the district of Columbia. Click here to see the states with minimum wages higher than the federal level.

$600,000

In the U.S, a coalition of city council members stated that the low-income students of New York City would disproportionately influence by the New York City policy. The policy makes all the public schools to return funding if their enrollment is dropped during the Covid-19 pandemic. According to Preliminary City Enrollment Data, in this academic year, the total number of students enrolled in the school system from grade 3k to 12 is around 960,000, which is 4% low compared with the previous academic year. The schools that lost the students need to return a portion of funding, for each student who left. So some schools are asked to repay as much as $600,000, even though they have allocated to cover up the pandemic-related costs. By this week, the agency would restore about 25% of enrollment reduction payments the schools had to pay back by midyear.