WASHINGTON, D.C. (NBC) – New numbers out Friday show the U.S. job market improved last month. But with unemployment still above 10%, there’s not a lot to celebrate.
The latest job numbers are good news, but there is a long way to go, according to the Labor Department. The hiring over the past three months has recovered just 42% of the jobs lost during the coronavirus crisis.
There was no deal Friday on Capitol Hill and after two weeks of negotiations with Democrats, top White House officials are now recommending President Trump move ahead with executive action on enhanced unemployment benefits, rental foreclosures and student loans.
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said, “I’m extremely disappointed that we came up here today just to hear the same thing repeated over and over again.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said, “I offered to them, we’ll take down a trillion if you add a trillion in. They said absolutely not.”
There are looming questions over whether President Trump can legally go around Congress. But time is running out for the workers and small business owners struggling to hang on.
One of those people is Barrio Café owner Silvana Salcido Esparza. “Pretty soon, I’ll be sellin’ my house to try to keep this restaurant alive,” she said. “My message to Washington, D.C. is: stop bickering with each other.”
As businesses open their doors and bring back laid-off workers, the U.S. economy added 1.8 million jobs in July, lowering the unemployment rate from 11% to 10.2%.
President Trump and his advisors are declaring victory. Acting Chair of Economic Advisors Tyler Goodspeed said, “The policies the president put in place will put the rate significantly below ten percent going forward and that’s just good news.”
But the job gains are lower than in May and June. “We have a total of 31 million people collecting some kind of unemployment,” explained former Deputy Labor Secretary Chris Lu.
Economists say much of the hiring just brought back temporary layoffs. So without more federal assistance, the recovery may get harder from here.
Some of the biggest hang-ups in negotiations are extending those enhanced $600 unemployment benefits and offering further aid to state and local governments.
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