After the dramatic collapse of the U.S. Economy due to the coronavirus pandemic, there is a glimmer of hope for the first time again.
The unemployment rate fell from 14.7 percent the previous month to 13.3 percent in may, the u.S. Government announced friday. The number of people employed outside agriculture has increased by 2.5 million. The drop in unemployment came as a surprise: most analysts had expected it to rise to around 20 percent. The new york leading index dow jones rose in the morning (local time) at times by more than three percent to a good 27.000 points.
"The numbers are incredible," president donald trump told journalists in the weiben house garden. "This is a major step in our comeback," he said. The situation on the labor market has improved significantly, although there are still strict corona requirements in many states. The economy will soon grow like "a rocket" and once again be the "greatest" in the world, promised trump, who is running for a second term in november. The corona crisis was more "like a hurricane" – destructive, but you can recover from it quickly, trump said.
However, the unemployment rate in may was still at its highest level in decades and the pandemic is far from over. Experts also fear that even by the end of next year, unemployment could still be just below the 10 percent mark. In february, the u.S. Unemployment rate was still at 3.5 percent, the lowest level in decades.
In may, a large number of employees were once again categorized as "absent" from work for other reasons, i.E. Neither employed nor unemployed. If these were paid as unemployed, the unemployment rate was above 16 percent, it hewed.
The labor market in the u.S. Is more flexible than in germany, for example: employees can be laid off much more quickly, but new hires are also made much faster. Strong hiring in may was reported primarily by the trade, education, services and health care sectors.
Since march, more than 42 million people in the u.S. Have lost their jobs at least temporarily – more than ever before in such a short time. As a result of the gradual easing of exit restrictions in most states, the numbers of new weekly applications for unemployment benefits had recently declined. Many businesses, factories and restaurants in the USA are now allowed to reopen under certain conditions.
The new labor market data showed that "rehiring has started earlier and more strongly" than the number of initial claims recently suggested, wrote analyst michael pearce of the consultancy capital economics. "The faster-than-expected turnaround in the labor market will raise hopes that the virus will not leave the same lasting wounds on the labor market as normal typical recessions," he wrote.
Particularly affected by the recent firings were members of minorities such as latinos and african americans, which may have added fuel to the recent protests following the death of george floyd during a police operation. The unemployment rate for blacks in may was now 16.8 percent, while the rate for women was 12.4 percent.
The u.S. Congress has so far passed corona stimulus packages totaling about 2.7 billion u.S. Dollars, or just over ten percent of annual u.S. Economic output. The u.S. Federal reserve (fed) has also launched programs to prevent a crash of the economy and the financial markets. According to fed chief jerome powell, the corona pandemic has plunged the u.S. Economy into the worst recession since the second world war.
In the u.S., there are nearly 1.9 million known corona infections and more than 108,000 deaths to date, according to data from the university of johns hopkins. That represents nearly one-third of the world’s confirmed infections and just over one-fourth of the death toll.