In July, according to the Employment Situation report published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the total number of jobs in the U.S. climbed by 1.8 million (after gains of 4.8 million in June and 2.7 million in May) and the seasonally adjusted (SA) unemployment rate eased to 10.2% (after readings of 11.1% in June, 13.0% in May and 14.4% in April).
The nation’s labor market was shredded by coronavirus-related shutdowns in early spring. It is now rebounding, but with less vigor than hoped for. Acting as a drag on jobs prospects have been de-railings of some state re-openings due to surges in new COVID-19 cases. As set out in Graph 1 at the end of this article, weekly initial jobless claims continue to exceed a million.
The big question is: “Where does the U.S. now stand with respect to employment recovery since February-to-April’s precipitous drop?”
Many of the most relevant numbers on the U.S. jobs recovery appear in Table 1.
