A hiring sign gets displayed in a store window in New York City in August. Last month saw a sharp slowdown in hiring from previous months as the pandemic wears on and creates uncertainty. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption
A hiring sign gets displayed in a store window in New York City in August. Last month saw a sharp slowdown in hiring from previous months as the pandemic wears on and creates uncertainty.
Hiring slowed sharply in August as a new surge in coronavirus infections slammed the brakes on the economic recovery.
U.S. employers added just 235,000 jobs last month, a sharp slowdown from the torrid pace of hiring in June and July.
"The labor market recovery has downshifted," said Nela Richardson, chief economist for the payroll processing company ADP. "The U.S. economy is facing increasing headwinds as the pandemic wears on and the delta variant creates uncertainty."
The unemployment rate fell to 5.2% in August from 5.4% in July.
Confirmed coronavirus infections have jumped nearly 20% in the last two weeks, while COVID-19 deaths have nearly doubled during that period. The worsening public health outlook threw a late-summer speed bump in the recovery, making people more cautious about traveling and eating out and reducing the need for workers.
Restaurants and bars cut 42,000 jobs in August after adding 253,000 in July.
Retailers cut 29,000 jobs last month.
Homebase, which makes scheduling software for small businesses, saw a notable decline in hours worked last month especially in the entertainment and hospitality industries.
"We are hearing anecdotally from our customers that absolutely it is a result of COVID," Homebase CEO John Waldmann said. "We are seeing similar trends in the data from what we saw last year and January of this year. It would be hard-pressed to say this is not COVID-related."
The slowdown in the Homebase data was particularly pronounced in the Southeast, where COVID-19 cases are especially high. New England, where case counts are lower, fared somewhat better.
The spike in new cases has also discouraged some people from returning to work. And it threatens to disrupt in-person schooling, which could make it harder for parents to hold down jobs.
"All of us who care about small businesses really wanted to be optimistic that a lot of the things keeping people from work were going to start to heal themselves into the fall," Waldmann said. "Unfortunately, it looks like we're going to be dealing with challenges here for a little bit longer."
The slowdown in hiring comes just as emergency unemployment benefits that Congress authorized earlier in the pandemic are about to expire. In mid-August, more than 12 million people were receiving some form of jobless aid. Most will receive their final payments next week.
Warehouses and delivery services added 53,000 jobs last month as the online retail business continues to expand.
Manufacturing is another bright spot in the economy, with new orders and output both accelerating in August. But factories continue to struggle to find enough parts and workers.
Factories added 37,000 jobs last month, up from 27,000 a month earlier.
"Companies want to hire more people," said Tim Fiore, who oversees a monthly survey of factory managers for the Institute for Supply Management. "There's no doubt that demand is calling for more people, and they can't get them."
Fiore said many factories are facing increased turnover as workers depart for higher wages elsewhere.
Wages have been rising, especially in restaurants and hotels. But prices have been climbing, too, eroding workers' buying power. Private sector wages in August were up 4.3% from a year ago. But they are not keeping pace with inflation, which was 5.4% in July matching the highest rate in nearly 13 years.
See original here:
U.S. Hiring Slows Sharply As Latest Coronavirus Surge Slams The Brakes On The Economy - NPR
- Coronavirus: over 70% of critical care patients in UK are men - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Cholera and coronavirus: why we must not repeat the same mistakes - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- 'If your child is hungry, you will eat your rulers to feed your children' - CNN [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Millions Had Risen Out of Poverty. Coronavirus Is Pulling Them Back. - The New York Times [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Where did it go wrong for the UK on coronavirus? - CNN [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Potential coronavirus vaccine being tested in Germany could 'supply millions' by end of year - CNN [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- The pandemic and the influencer: will the lifestyle survive coronavirus? - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Why Georgia Is Reopening Amid the Coronavirus Pandemic - The Atlantic [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Has Sweden's coronavirus strategy played into the hands of nationalists? - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Coronavirus memes: These AI-generated memes are better than ones created by humans - Vox.com [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Coronavirus spares one neighborhood but ravages the next. Race and class spell the difference. - USA TODAY [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Life in Trumps Coronavirus Ghetto - The New York Times [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- The Gates aren't pinning their coronavirus hopes on the U.S. - Politico [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- New Coronavirus Test Offers Advantages: Just Spit and Wait - The New York Times [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Coronavirus is advancing in L.A., retreating in Bay Area - Los Angeles Times [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Trump Brings Religion Into the Coronavirus Culture War - The Atlantic [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Coronavirus in Chicago: How the mayor of the nation's 3rd-largest city is waging her biggest fight - USA TODAY [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Number of coronavirus cases from second warship outbreak nears 100 as Navy restricts information on pandemic - CNN [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- We the People, in Order to Defeat the Coronavirus - The New York Times [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- How Coronavirus Mutates and Spreads - The New York Times [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Coronavirus pandemic in the US: Live updates - CNN [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- The Coronavirus Still Is a Global Health Emergency, W.H.O. Warns - The New York Times [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- No leadership and no plan: is Trump about to fail the US on coronavirus testing? - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Midwest: Coronavirus-Related Restrictions And Reopenings - NPR [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- How New Mexico Flattened the Coronavirus Curve - The New York Times [Last Updated On: May 2nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 2nd, 2020]
- Rashes, headaches, tingling: the less common coronavirus symptoms that patients have - The Guardian [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2020]
- Coronavirus Survivors Want Answers, and China Is Silencing Them - The New York Times [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2020]
- Coronavirus numbers explained: Why Odisha is seeing a spike in new cases - The Indian Express [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2020]
- New Studies Add to Evidence that Children May Transmit the Coronavirus - The New York Times [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2020]
- In the Fight to Treat Coronavirus, Your Lungs Are a Battlefield - The New York Times [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2020]
- New evidence indicates coronavirus was infecting people in Europe and the US before the first official cases were reported - CNN [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2020]
- How Will the Coronavirus Change Us? - The Atlantic [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2020]
- Coronavirus daily news updates, May 9: What to know today about COVID-19 in the Seattle area, Washington state and the nation - Seattle Times [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2020]
- Coronavirus threatens a guarded tradition for many black Americans: Voting in person - CNN [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2020]
- Youll Probably Never Know If You Had the Coronavirus in January - The Atlantic [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2020]
- What We Know About Coronavirus Mutations : Goats and Soda - NPR [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2020]
- US falls short in coronavirus testing in some areas of the country - CNN [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2020]
- Three Children Have Died in N.Y. of Illness Linked to Virus: Live Updates - The New York Times [Last Updated On: May 9th, 2020] [Originally Added On: May 9th, 2020]
- Things feel so dark, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says on riots, coronavirus and Midland flooding - MLive.com [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- Covid-19: will the governments mixed messages lead to another surge? - The Guardian [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- The World Is Still Far From Herd Immunity for Coronavirus - The New York Times [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- How a decade of privatisation and cuts exposed England to coronavirus - The Guardian [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- Teaching in the time of coronavirus: Finding creative ways to engage students - The San Diego Union-Tribune [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- These Athletes Had the Coronavirus. Will They Ever Be the Same? - The New York Times [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- Battered by Coronavirus Outbreak, NYC Finally Moves Toward Reopening - The New York Times [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- Coronavirus Showed How Globalization Broke the World - The New York Times [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- In Some Nations, Coronavirus Is Only One of Many Outbreaks - The New York Times [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- Coronavirus FAQs: Is It Safer To Fly Or Drive? Is Air Conditioning A Threat? - NPR [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- Coronavirus: The mystery of 'silent spreaders' - BBC News [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- Utah sees another spike in coronavirus cases, third big day in a row - Salt Lake Tribune [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- Its Not Whether You Were Exposed to the Coronavirus. Its How Much. - The New York Times [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- A second wave of coronavirus: When it could come, how long it could last and more - CNET [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- Growing Data Show Blacks And Latinos Bear The Brunt Of COVID-19 : Shots - Health News - NPR [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- Minneapolis, the Coronavirus, and Trumps Failure to See a Crisis Coming - The New Yorker [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- Utah is averaging more than 200 new coronavirus cases a day over the past week as hot spots flare up from Logan to St. George - Salt Lake Tribune [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- Just 2.3% of new coronavirus test results in Wisconsin were positive the lowest on record - Green Bay Press Gazette [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- Coronavirus Testing: Should I Go For It Even If I Have No Symptoms? : Goats and Soda - NPR [Last Updated On: June 1st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 1st, 2020]
- Coronavirus in Florida: What you need to know Sunday, June 21 - TCPalm [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- ESPYS honoree Kim Clavel took a break from boxing to fight coronavirus - CNN [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- Iceland now feels like the coronavirus never happened - CNN [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- Lessons on Coronavirus Testing From the Adult Film Industry - The New York Times [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- Pence Misleadingly Blames Coronavirus Spikes on Rise in Testing - The New York Times [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- Putin has a 'disinfection tunnel,' Sweden feels isolated over coronavirus - CNBC [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- Texas Governor Says 'No Reason Today To Be Alarmed' As Coronavirus Cases Set Record - NPR [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- What it means to come into close contact with a coronavirus case and your risk of infection - CNBC [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- Coronavirus runs through crowded homes and must-do jobs, hitting people of color hard - San Francisco Chronicle [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- NJ hits top ranking in coronavirus analysis, showing positive trends and signs of hope - NorthJersey.com [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- Coronavirus surges arent linked to one single cause - The Register-Guard [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- Tens of thousands of Britons have died from coronavirus. But Boris Johnson is stoking a culture war. - CNN [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- High risk of coronavirus second wave as Australian shops and workplaces reopen, report says - The Guardian [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- Florida sets another single-day coronavirus case record with nearly 4,000 infections - Tampa Bay Times [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- U.S. banks are 'swimming in money' as deposits increase by $2 trillion amid the coronavirus - CNBC [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- Coronavirus shuts down Crowbar, the Orpheum and Skippers Smokehouse - Tampa Bay Times [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- Global report: Trump says he ordered coronavirus testing to 'slow down' - The Guardian [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- Russia reopens ahead of Victory Day and Putin referendum -- but coronavirus threat remains - CNN [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- In Beijing it looked like coronavirus was gone. Now we're living with a second wave - The Guardian [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- Coronavirus Live News and Updates - The New York Times [Last Updated On: June 21st, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 21st, 2020]
- Flushing the Toilet May Fling Coronavirus Aerosols All Over - The New York Times [Last Updated On: June 22nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 22nd, 2020]
- Coronavirus: What's happening around the world Monday - CBC.ca [Last Updated On: June 22nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 22nd, 2020]
- Coronavirus could die out on its own, according to Italian expert: Report - silive.com [Last Updated On: June 22nd, 2020] [Originally Added On: June 22nd, 2020]