Everyone was expecting the worst from the unemployment report today, but instead the economy is already showing signs of a recovery in progress:
CBS NEWS – Unemployment around the U.S. declined slightly in May, falling to 13.3% as the economy showed signs of recovering from the impact of nationwide shutdowns caused by the coronavirus.
Employers added 2.5 million jobs last month, the Labor Department said Friday, after April marked the biggest hit to the labor market since records began to be kept in 1948 and sent the unemployment rate skyrocketing to 14.7%.
The latest figures, which defied forecasts of millions of additional job losses, suggest the labor market has hit bottom and is now rallying. Economists predict that layoffs will ease as states reopen their economies following months of being locked down.
“This much better than expected report reinforces our view that April likely marked the trough in U.S. economic activity,” said Fitch ratings chief economist Brian Coulton in a note to investors. “The sharp pick-up in leisure and hospitality jobs and in construction and retail employment speaks to the impact of the easing in lockdowns in May and to the huge share of unemployed in April who were reported to be on ‘temporary’ layoff.”
This would mean that of the near 43 million that have filed for unemployment over the pandemic, 2.5 million have returned to the workforce, bringing the unemployment rate down a little.
It would seem the recovery has begun.
Trump is set to hold a press conference at 10AM on this new unemployment report and you can watch it below: