Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
July Jobs Rise Higher Than Expected Though Unemployed Suffer
AP: US Adds 1.8 Million Jobs In A Sign That Hiring Has Slowed
The United States added 1.8 million jobs in July, a pullback from the gains of May and June and evidence that the resurgent coronavirus is stalling hiring and slowing an economic rebound. With confirmed viral cases still elevated in much of the nation and businesses under continued pressure, many employers appear reluctant or unable to hire. Even counting the hiring of the past three months, the economy has now recovered only about 42% of the 22 million jobs it lost to the pandemic-induced recession, according to the Labor Department’s jobs report released Friday. (Rugaber, 8/7)
CNBC: U.S. Jobs Rise By 1.763 Million In July, Vs 1.48 Million Expected
Two months of record-setting payroll growth slowed in July but was still better than Wall Street estimates even as a rise in coronavirus cases put a damper on the struggling U.S. economy. The total nonfarm payroll increased of 1.763 million for the month. The unemployment rate fell to 10.2% from its previous 11.1%, also better than the estimates from economists surveyed by Dow Jones. An alternative measure that includes discouraged workers and the undermployed holding parttime jobs for economic reasons fell from 18% to 16.5%. (Cox 8/7)
AP: 'Worst Nightmare': Laid-Off Workers Endure Loss Of $600 Aid
An unemployed makeup artist with two toddlers and a disabled husband needs help with food and rent. A hotel manager says his unemployment has deepened his anxiety and kept him awake at night. A dental hygienist, pregnant with her second child, is struggling to afford diapers and formula. Around the country, across industries and occupations, millions of Americans thrown out of work because of the coronavirus are straining to afford the basics now that an extra $600 a week in federal unemployment benefits has expired. (Skidmore Sell and Wiseman, 8/7)
Politico: A Growing Side Effect Of The Pandemic: Permanent Job Loss
Tens of millions of Americans have lost their jobs in the coronavirus recession, but for many of them the news is getting even worse: Their positions are going away forever. Permanent losses have so far made up only a fraction of the jobs that have vanished since states began shutting down their economies in March, with the vast majority of unemployed workers classified as on temporary layoff. But those numbers are steadily increasing — reaching 2.9 million in June — as companies start to move from temporary layoffs to permanent cuts. The number is widely expected to rise further when the Labor Department reports July data on Friday. (Cassella, 8/6)
The New York Times: ‘It’s Time For A Change’: Workers Idled By The Virus Try New Careers
As a national lockdown was imposed in March, a food deliverer, Hanna Scaife, watched her weekly hours plummet from 30, to five, then zero as restaurants across Teesside, in northeast England, shut their doors. Business hasn’t gotten much better since then. “It’s been really tough,” said Ms. Scaife, who has worked for over a year delivering food by car to customers’ doorsteps. (Abdul, 8/6)
Burlington Free Press: COVID-19: Vermont Ski Towns See Highest Local Unemployment
The five Vermont towns that reported the highest rates of unemployment in June are all home to major ski resorts — towns which rely heavily on tourism, an economic driver hindered this summer by COVID-19 safety concerns and state travel restrictions. Dover, which the Vermont Department of Labor reported to have a 25.5% rate of unemployment in June, is home to Mount Snow. (Last June, Dover had an unemployment rate of just 5.2%.) Londonderry, home to Magic Mountain, reported 18.1% unemployment. (Board, 8/6)
The New York Times: Amid Dire Jobless Numbers, Small-Business Relief Program Nears End
In early April, three weeks after Connecticut issued shutdown orders, Ken Bodenstein borrowed $148,000 from the federal government to help cover payroll expenses at the Westport day care center he runs with his wife, Kristen. The small-business loan, along with the Bodensteins’ own cash reserves, allowed the couple to continue to pay their 21 workers for nearly three months. But by June 5, the day the money ran out, only 11 of the 75 children who attended the day care before the pandemic had returned, forcing the Bodensteins to furlough or lay off all but nine employees. (Cowley, 8/6)
