Initial Jobless Claims Rise, State & Local Jobs Still Below Financial Crisis Level, More Job Cuts Loom
10/15/2020
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Jobless claims data released this morning came in at 898,000, which is worse than the 825,000 consensus estimate. Today’s results point to the possibility that the tepid labor market recovery we have seen recently may be losing steam.
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State and local governments immediately began cutting employment rosters at the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis. In April, state and local governments slashed employment by almost 1 million, quickly surpassing the worst job losses we saw in the wake of the 2008 Financial Crisis. Total state and local employment as of September 2020 remains below the trough of the post-financial crisis period.
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Public finance related layoffs have been piling up and could continue without direct federal relief as governments and other entities balance budgets.
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The economic and labor market recoveries seem to have evened out–we cite some data below.
