‘Misclassification Error’ Made May Jobs Report Seem Rosier Than It Likely Is
While the government reported that the unemployment rate was 13.3%, the error means that it was more like 16.3%. In other news on the economic toll of the virus: homelessness, signs of improvement, stimulus checks, debt collectors, job losses and more.
The Washington Post:
The Jobs Report Had A ‘Misclassification Error.’ Here’s What Happened
When the U.S. government’s official jobs report for May came out on Friday, it included a note at the bottom saying there had been a major “error” indicating that the unemployment rate likely should be higher than the widely reported 13.3 percent rate. The special note said that if this “misclassification error” had not occurred, the “overall unemployment rate would have been about 3 percentage points higher than reported,” meaning the unemployment rate would be about 16.3 percent for May. But that would still be an improvement from an unemployment rate of about 19.7 percent for April, applying the same standards. (Long, 6/6)
The Washington Post:
Coronavirus Job Loss Sends Florida Family Into Homelessness
The pandemic had forced them from their home. Then they had run out of money for a motel. That left the car, which is where Sergine Lucien, Dave Marecheau and their two children were one recent night, parked in a lot that was tucked behind a row of empty storefronts. Sergine eyed some men gathering by a fence in the opposite corner of the blacktop. “I just heard some f-bombs,” she said. “I’m not worried,” Dave replied. (Jaffe, 6/6)
Reuters:
Fed Says Beating Pandemic Is Key, But How Will It Know Things Are Better?
With a full three months of responding to a global pandemic under their belt, U.S. Federal Reserve officials have united around one point: lasting progress on the economic front will be dictated by success in containing the spread of the coronavirus. But agreement beyond that may be elusive as Fed policymakers meet this week to balance fresh signs the United States may be over the worst of the economic fallout from the pandemic against evidence the virus is not yet under control. (Schneider, 6/8)
ProPublica:
The CARES Act Sent You A $1,200 Check But Gave Millionaires And Billionaires Far More
Do you want to see how legislation that was supposed to be a bailout for our economy ended up committing almost as much taxpayer money to help a relative handful of the non-needy as it spent to help tens of millions of people in need? Then let’s step back and revisit parts of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act and look at some of the numbers involved. The best-known feature of the CARES Act, as it’s known, is the cash grant of up to $1,200 per adult and $500 per child for households whose income was less than $99,000 for single taxpayers and $198,000 for couples. These grants are nontaxable, which makes them even more valuable. Some 159 million stimulus payments have gone out, according to the IRS. (Sloan, 6/8)
ProPublica:
Capital One And Other Debt Collectors Are Still Coming For Millions Of Americans
Since 2018, Capital One has been a looming presence in Julio Lugo’s life, ever since the company sued him, as it did 29,000 other New Yorkers that year, over an unpaid credit card. But when the coronavirus hit the city this March, it wasn’t on his mind. At Mount Sinai in Manhattan, where he works, he’d been drafted into the hospital’s frenzied effort against the virus. He normally gathered patient information at the front desk of a radiology clinic in orderly shifts, 9 to 5. Now he was working 16-hour days, often overnight. At one moment he might be enlisted to help a team of doctors or nurses put on their full-body protective equipment and then he would rush to disinfect another team. (Kiel and Ernsthausen, 6/8)
The Associated Press:
Government Job Losses Are Piling Up, And It Could Get Worse
Jobs with state and city governments are usually a source of stability in the U.S. economy, but the financial devastation wrought by the coronavirus pandemic has forced cuts that will reduce public services — from schools to trash pickup. Even as the U.S. added some jobs in May, the number of people employed by federal, state and local governments dropped by 585,000. The overall job losses among public workers have reached more than 1.5 million since March, according to seasonally adjusted federal jobs data released Friday. The number of government employees is now the lowest it’s been since 2001, and most of the cuts are at the local level. (Mulvihill, 6/8)
Politico:
How The U.S. Economic Response Could Change As People Go Back To Work
As Congress debates whether to allocate further relief to shore up the U.S. economy and get workers back on their feet, the unemployment rate has suddenly and unexpectedly fallen. Here’s a look at how the new numbers are shaping the debate over how the government can keep the turnaround going. (Cassella and Rainey, 6/5)
