More than a million Americans sought unemployment benefits last week.
“Conditions in the labor market remain weak, and the risk of mounting permanent job losses is high, especially if activity continues to be disrupted by repeated virus-related shutdowns,” said Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics.
While sales climbed 7.5% in June, private credit card data shows that those gains stalled toward the end of the month as new clusters of infections emerged. “This is my biggest nightmare that we would open and re-close small businesses,” said Sandy Sigal, president and CEO of NewMark Merrill Companies, which runs 85 outdoor lifestyle centers in California, Colorado and Illinois.
But huge U.S. companies continue to lay off people. American Airlines warned its workers Wednesday that it may have to cut up to 25,000 jobs in October because of sharply reduced air travel. Airlines are barred from layoffs until then as a condition of federal aid they have received. American followed United Airlines, which warned 36,000 of its employees last week that they may lose their jobs.
And an extra $600 in weekly unemployment benefits provided by the federal government on top of regular aid from the states will expire this month, unless replaced or extended. Those funds, along with the $1,200 relief checks sent out in April, enabled millions of Americans to stay current on housing costs and bills.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
BBC job cuts add to UK media gloom, as virus fallout bites
Read more »
Veteran journalist Ces Drilon among early faces of ABS-CBN job cuts
Read more »
American Airlines warns 25,000 workers they could lose jobsDALLAS — American Airlines is notifying about 25,000 workers that their jobs could be eliminated in October because of plunging demand for air travel, adding to the toll that the virus pandemic is
Read more »
With no franchise, ABS-CBN cuts jobsABS-CBN will retrench employees effective August 31. The network has yet to disclose how many will lose their jobs. FULL STORY:
Read more »
Indonesia cuts rates as virus batters SE Asia's biggest economy
Read more »