(PresidentialHill.com)- Unemployment claims are looking decent amid the recession that the Biden administration refuses to accept clocking in at 3.6% for the fourth straight month, a 50-year low before the pandemic. Fewer Americans applied for unemployment last week, according to Newsmax. The news is short-lived, however, as the previous week’s numbers breached the 250,000 level for the first time in eight months.
The reports come as the U.S. economy reportedly shrank by 0.9% in the second-quarter, the second consecutive quarter that showed economic contraction which signals a recession is officially here.
Applications for jobless aid reportedly declined by 5,000 to 256,000 last week, but the week before that saw an increase of 10,000, meaning that unemployment claims are still up overall. The four-week average for claims indicates this increase as unemployment claims rose by 6,250, a number at its highest level since November 2021.
On the plus side, the number of Americans that have collected unemployment aid has declined 25,000 during the week of July 16 to just over 1.3 million, a figure that has been at 50-year lows for months, according to Newsmax.
Employers advertised fewer jobs in May, according to government reports. The report comes as the economy was bracing for a recession, but there is still strong demand for workers. For every unemployed person, there are two job openings.
Despite the shrinking economy, consumer prices are still soaring upward, with inflation reaching 9.1% in June, marking the highest since 1981. As inflation chips away at consumers’ paycheck and spending power, Americans are cutting back on the spending, sending the economy into weakened territory as GDP head downward.
To combat inflationary pressure, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates again by another three-quarters of a point last week, following the hikes in May and June. Amid layoffs announced by companies like Tesla, Netflix, Carvana, Redfin and Coinbase, unemployment claims rose which signal a weakening economy and labor market.
