President Joe Biden’s policies have left the U.S. economy “in a precarious position,” Job Creators Network President and CEO Alfredo Ortiz said after the Department of Labor on Thursday revealed that about 712,000 people applied for unemployment insurance for the first time last week.
“The economy is still in a precarious position,” Ortiz said in a statement. “The number of first-time jobless claims is about three times higher than it was pre-pandemic. Seventeen million Americans are either unemployed or underemployed — twice as high as it was pre-COVID. Small businesses are still struggling, and they will barely be helped by the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill.”
He added, “Less than 3% of the stimulus was focused on small businesses despite their critical role in job creation. In fact, the stimulus bill might hurt our economy because of the greater risk of inflation and growing market concerns about our debt. With the stimulus bill taken care of, Democrats will put the pedal to the metal on their left-wing agenda — raising the minimum wage, increasing taxes, taking over our healthcare system, and enacting the Green New Deal. JCN will continue fighting against these destructive, job-eliminating policies.”
Unemployment insurance claims skyrocketed after the COVID-19 pandemic caused widespread lockdowns, putting millions out of work, but gradually tapered off to less than 1 million per week after September. Economists with Dow Jones and Refinitiv expected 725,000 jobless claims to come that week. Continuing claims have also decreased by about 193,000 to about 4.1 million as of Thursday, a low for the pandemic.
Robert Frick, a corporate economist for the Navy Federal Credit Union, told Fox Business: “We’re likely on the verge of much lower unemployment claims, but we’re not there yet. Though weekly state claims are close to breaking the 700,000 barrier, combined state and federal claims still are around 1.2 million. Assuming COVID-19 infections and deaths continue to decline, we expect lower, and perhaps dramatically lower, claims this spring.”
Daniel Zhao, the senior economist for the website Glassdoor, where employees can rate the companies they work for, told The Wall Street Journal that “We’re waiting for the fog to clear. We know things are still fairly bad for the public-health situation and the economic situation, but there is a finish line on the horizon.”
He added that “The vaccine is the end-all, be-all. We keep saying that the vaccine is actually the best economic stimulus.”
Doug McMillon, the president and chief executive of Walmart and the leader of the Business Roundtable, released a statement on Wednesday saying, “Nothing can erase how tough the last year was, but eradicating the pandemic and strengthening the U.S. economic recovery can help us turn the page. For that to happen, it’s important that as many people as possible get vaccinated when eligible and continue safety practices.”
AnnElizabeth Konkel, an economist with the Indeed Hiring Lab, noted to NBC News that “Total initial claims are still 5.8 times higher than during the pre-COVID period, which is staggering given that we are now a full year into this crisis.”
She added, “Unfortunately, long-term joblessness continues to be the reality for millions. Programs available to claimants after regular benefits have been exhausted are at their highest yet. To fully heal the labor market, the public health situation must be under control. Coronavirus started this mess — and continues to cause massive economic damage on a daily basis.”
Source: Newmax
