Jobs added, jobs lost in pandemic
June unemployment rate drops to 11.1 percent, but another 1.4 million file for benefits
Many workers have returned to jobs, but many others have not, and new unemployment claims persist across the nation, according to the latest statistics. (Shutterstock)
By Ted Cox
The government delivered a mixed message on unemployment Thursday, with 4.8 million jobs added in June, lowering the unemployment rate to 11.1 percent, even as another 1.4 million idled workers filed for benefits last week.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that its national survey last month estimated that total nonfarm payrolls rose 4.8 million in June, lowering the unemployment rate to 11.1 percent, down from 13.3 percent in May and 14.7 percent in April, when more than 20 million jobs were lost as the economic impact took hold from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The bureau claimed the improved jobs report stemmed from people returning to work and “reflected the continued resumption of economic activity that had been curtailed in March and April due to the coronavirus pandemic and efforts to contain it. In June, employment in leisure and hospitality rose sharply. Notable job gains also occurred in retail trade, education and health services, other services, manufacturing, and professional and business services.”
It reported that “the number of unemployed persons fell by 3.2 million to 17.8 million” in June. But it pointed out that, even as unemployment dropped in May and June, the jobless rate was nonetheless up by 7.6 percentage points since February, reflecting an increase in 12 million people unemployed.
Gains were reported across all demographics, but disparities persisted. According to the bureau, “the unemployment rates declined in June for adult men (10.2 percent), adult women (11.2 percent), teenagers (23.2 percent), Whites (10.1 percent), Blacks (15.4 percent), and Hispanics (14.5 percent),” while the jobless rate for Asian Americans remained flat at 13.8 percent.
The U.S. Department of Labor report, based on concrete unemployment figures from states, was starker Thursday. The department reported another 1.4 million idled workers filed for benefits last week, down 55,000 from revised figures from the week before, but that still meant that new jobless claims had hovered just above or below 1.5 million for four straight weeks, as the total number of claims filed since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold nationally in March approached 50 million.
“The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending June 13 was 31,491,627, an increase of 916,722 from the previous week,” the department reported. “There were 1,582,309 persons claiming benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2019.”
“The report reflects that we can return millions more Americans to work in the weeks ahead, provided we bear in mind that economic recovery must go hand in hand with safe practices and self-discipline.”
Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia saw an improved jobs environment as the economy continues to slowly reopen across the nation from stay-at-home orders issued to slow the spread of COVID-19, but he also warned against the possibility of backsliding, as states across the Sun Belt from Florida through Texas to California have seen rises in coronavirus cases in recent weeks since reopening. “Today’s jobs report shows that our resilient economy continues to return more people to work, more quickly, than forecast,” Scalia said. “It is heartening to see employment gains across nearly all demographics. The report reflects that we can return millions more Americans to work in the weeks ahead, provided we bear in mind that economic recovery must go hand in hand with safe practices and self-discipline.”
New Illinois claims declined just over 1,000 from the week before, to 45,249, while claims by so-called gig workers for expanded federal benefits under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program rose sharply to 32,587, up from 10,820 the week before.
The Illinois Department of Employment Security released figures last week showing that the unemployment rate was up from a year ago in all major metropolitan areas across the state, with a high of 19.3 percent in Rockford and lows of 10.9 percent in Bloomington-Normal and 10 percent in Champaign-Urbana, the pair of college-town twin cities that are home to the state’s top public universities. The statewide unemployment rate for May stood at 14.7 percent, up from 3.5 percent the year before.
On Wednesday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released figures showing that the unemployment rate was up from a year ago in all 389 metropolitan areas across the nation, as “a total of 109 areas had jobless rates of less than 10 percent and 16 areas had rates of at least 20 percent.”