As the nation goes into a new month, the joblessness rates will significantly impact America.
Right now, many people are still having a tough time; this is due to multiple shutdowns and loss of employment that’s dragged on for close to one year now. It also doesn’t help matters that one of Biden’s first orders of business as president was to eliminate thousands of good-paying Keystone Pipeline jobs.
However, last week’s unemployment claim numbers carry the strong potential to impact congressional work to pass a coronavirus stimulus package, Breitbart News explains.
Reviewing Last Week’s Unemployment Numbers
Unemployment claims for the week of January 24 through January 30 arrived at 779,000. This is notably lower than the 835,000 that economic specialists predicted for the final week of January. The drop in joblessness claims additionally coincides with leaders choosing to reopen amid the Biden administration’s ascent to power.
Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims
Initial claims were 779,000 for the week ending 1/30 (-33,000).
Insured unemployment was 4,592,000 for the week ending 1/23 (-193,000).https://t.co/ys7Eg5LKAW
— US Labor Department (@USDOL) February 4, 2021
Despite the weekly dip in unemployment claims, they are still very high in the grand scheme of things, especially in comparison to the pre-COVID-19 economy. This indicates that the labor market is still reeling from lockdowns and other measures that reduce the capacity to do business.
However, the weekly drop in unemployment claims may be an asset for congressional Republicans backing a $600 billion relief package instead of Biden’s $1.9 trillion spending package.
The Case for a $600 Billion Spending Package
Despite Biden meeting with Republicans in the Senate earlier this week, he shot down the proposed GOP spending package as not big enough. The 46th president then moved to a meeting with Democrat senators where he urged his party members to expedite his favored $1.9 trillion package.
However, economic recovery (as demonstrated by last week’s jobless numbers) makes it easier for Republicans to assert the merits of a smaller relief package.
President Biden has signed more #ExecutiveOrders in his first 10 days than the last the last four presidents combined.
His inaugural address called for unity, but the first two weeks were filled with partisan executive orders & a lack of bipartisan efforts in the Senate. pic.twitter.com/tvm06gL0pQ
— Sen. James Lankford (@SenatorLankford) February 4, 2021
Already, certain Democrats in the Senate, such as Sen. Joe Manchin, have vocalized opposition towards the $15 federal minimum wage that is in Biden’s relief bill. Meanwhile, other Democrats have stated that $1,400 checks in the Biden plan should be boosted to $2,000 as he initially promised.
Republicans in Congress maintain that their proposed $600 billion spending package is more targeted and effective than the plan Biden seeks to pass.
What do you think about last week’s drop in unemployment claims? What do you make of Republicans’ proposed $600 billion spending proposal? Be sure to share your viewpoints about unemployment claims and the job market in the comments section below.
