A Year From COVID: Pandemic Insurance
If markets needed a reminder that we still are in a pandemic, they need look no further than the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) scheme.
If markets needed a reminder that we still are in a pandemic, they need look no further than the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) scheme.
The more famous labor market indicators, like the unemployment rate, are optimistic. This is corroborated by JOLTS data, but what do other indicators say?
Total nonfarm payrolls and jobless claims show a US labor market in nascent recovery, but what do other data points, like JOLTS, have to say?
We are about a year on from the worst of 2020’s job losses. As the West reopens again, optimism has surged, making this a good to check on the labor market.
Continuing claims have started to fall, even as initial claims remain high. Is the labor market okay now? If not, then where have the continuing claims gone?
Fiscal stimulus isn’t always ineffective. It has helped the Covid jobless pay for essentials, and provided businesses with enough cash to keep employees hired.
One year on from the first Covid lockdown, the US labor market is still suffering, bleeding jobs at an alarming rate despite trillions in stimulus.
What if a fall in the unemployment rate doesn’t actually mean that there are more people who are employed? How is this possible? What does it mean?