Wall Street Journal associate editor John Bussey discusses coronavirus vaccines, with Ocasio-Cortez defeating Pelosi and Schumer’s leadership and a stimulus deal.
The number of Americans claiming unemployment benefits for the first time fell for the first time in three weeks, but remained high as rising COVID-19 infections and new restrictions to help reduce the spread of the virus affected the economy.
DEMOCRATS SEE SEE $ 900M COVID PACKAGE USE ONLY
Figures released by the Department of Labor on Thursday show that 803,000 Americans filed unemployment claims for the first time in the week ended December 19, less than the 885,000 forecasts of Refinitiv economists.
The number is almost four times higher than the pre-crisis level, but is well below the peak of almost 7 million that was reached when home orders were first issued in March. Nearly 70 million Americans, or about 40 percent of the workforce, have applied for unemployment benefits during the pandemic.
The number of people who continue to receive unemployment benefits fell to 5,337 million, a decline of about 170,000 from the previous week. The report shows that about 20.4 million Americans received some form of unemployment-free assistance by December 5th.
12 MILLION AMERICAN FALLS LOSS UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS
The latest unemployment figures come as President Trump threatens to torpedo the $ 900 billion coronavirus bailout deal that Congress concluded Monday night after a semester of thorough negotiations.
The bill, which has been attached to the $ 1.4 trillion omnibus spending measure, will send direct payments of up to $ 600 to Americans earning less than $ 87,000, expanding federal unemployment benefits by 300 dollars per week until mid-March and will reopen the Wage Protection Program for small businesses.
But in a video address on Tuesday night, Trump called the $ 600 control proposals included in the economic aid bill “ridiculously low” and said payments should be more than tripled – a proposal that many Democrats immediately aligned.
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Trump did not say whether he intended to veto the aid measure for millions of Americans, but called it a “shame.” If the president refuses to sign the legislation, the consequences would be serious: millions of Americans would lose their unemployment benefits the day after Christmas, when two federal programs expire as the economy falters on the brink of another slowdown and the government closes on Monday.
“As with most legislation, the stimulus package was imperfect, very late, but better late than never and much better than nothing,” said Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst for Bankrate. “It would make the difference between an economy that could contract in the first quarter, compared to staying above water.”