Data earlier this week underscore a tenuous labor market. The Census Bureau’s weekly Household Pulse survey showed the number of employed Americans dropped by about 6.7 million from mid-June through mid-July, the majority of that in the second week of July from the first.
Meanwhile, more than half of business closures in a Yelp survey are permanent, indicating some of the lost jobs aren’t coming back anytime soon.
Broader measures of unemployed Americans in Thursday’s data showed conditions remain difficult, with the caveat that some figures don’t necessarily present an accurate count.
States reported 975,000 people filed for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, a federal program for those not eligible for regular state programs such as the self-employed and gig workers. That figure was higher than the prior week.
And the total number of unadjusted continuing claims fell to 31.8 million three weeks ago from 32 million. This figure, though, likely largely reflects continued overcounting of PUA applications as states clear backlogs.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.