The June Jobs Report is unfortunately an illusion of hope.
While close to five million jobs were created and the unemployment rate went down, the June report is based again on faulty classification errors and worker reporting numbers taken before the COVID 19 spike in most of the country.
In essence, the June Jobs Report masks a truly poor labor market situation.
Democrats like former Vice President and 2020 Presidential Nominee Joe Biden feel that the bad job market situation was exacerbated by the inept and virtually nonexistent leadership of Donald Trump.
Speaking after the release of the June Employment Report, Mr. Biden said:
“ I am happy millions of workers are back on payrolls…. This is a good day for those who regained their security…. There is one number I was stunned that the President didn’t mention even once in the process…The number was 50,000. Yesterday, the number of new COVID cases in the country topped 50,000 in a single day. We’ve never hit that number before in the course of this virus…. To me and many Americans, this is very worrisome…The President didn’t even address it…. Until this President faces what is going on in our country, our economy is going to remain at risk. Today’s (jobs) report is positive news…But make no mistake, we are still in a deep deep deep job hole because Donald Trump has so badly bungled up the response to the Coronavirus and now has basically given up responding at all. Millions more Americans would still have their jobs if Donald Trump had done his job…And for everyone who cannot get a job,..does this feel like a victory….President Trump has spiked the ball and made this about him…Only one-third of the jobs that have been lost in March and April have come back…It’s only gonna get harder from here though…Look, let’s not lose sight of the critical point. This job report measures job gains as of June 12. In the days since we’ve seen (COVID 19) cases spiking around the country….In the last two weeks, we’ve seen almost three million new unemployment filings and another 1.7 million people seeking pandemic unemployment insurance. There’s no victory to be celebrated….We’ve already had more than 128,000 dead and the number keeps climbing. That’s a direct consequence of Donald Trump’s bungled leadership in the total mismanagement of this crisis from the start…Without a uniform plan and guidance from the federal government that state and local leaders can use to inform their local reopening plans, this is going to continue to be worse…Democrats in Congress have put forward legislation to reward and protect our brave frontline workers. Helping working families find childcare, extend the supplemental unemployment benefits for people for the duration of the economic crisis. Meanwhile, the Republicans and President Trump are stalling on support for working families…..”
Please see the full remarks of the 2020 Democratic Presidential Nominee below:
Arizona Democratic Party Spokesperson Matt Grodsky also issued a statement on the recent jobs report, writing:
“For the fourth month in a row, the Labor Department noted that its data collectors misclassified some workers as “employed not at work,” when they should have been classified as “unemployed on temporary layoff.” If it weren’t for that issue, the unemployment rate would have been as high as 12.3% in June versus today’s reported 11.1%. The unemployment rate is still higher than in any period since World War Two.”
“The facts are clear: The country is in the worst unemployment crisis since the Great Depression because of Trump’s failures. 17.8 million workers are still out of work, and the June report does not account for all of the workers who have recently been laid off, some for a second time, after Trump’s incompetence led to record COVID-19 spikes and more than a dozen states being forced to pause reopening, including Arizona.”
“But despite all this hardship, Republicans refuse to support extending enhanced unemployment benefits and are instead prioritizing more tax cuts for investors and corporations…”
“Trump has taken a pass on leading the country and is instead holding reckless youth rallies and tweeting racist videos while downplaying this virus and the economic calamity on his hands. Republicans in Congress have intensified the crisis by refusing to authorize more relief for American workers. The American people deserve a President with the compassion and competence. That’s why they will be voting for Vice President Biden in November.”
Democratic Congressional Candidate running to defeat Republican incumbents in this year’s elections also voiced their views on the jobs report.
Congressional District Four Candidate Delina DiSanto
“When we look at the June Jobs Report, we have to look at several items:”
“1. On Barrons.com it’s noted, The Fed’s March stimulus efforts—financial-crisis tools such as Treasury purchases, along with plans for several new lending and liquidity facilities—unfroze corporate financial markets, starting a chain reaction that has lured investors back into even the riskiest asset classes, like equities. Companies have taken advantage by borrowing in record numbers.”
“2. Corporations have taken advantage of the PPP loan program under the Cares Act and many large businesses abused the program when monies were to be for small business. This gave them market liquidity.”
“3. States opened up to try and bring back their economy. This in turn gave them the excuse to not pay unemployment benefits if employees were called back.”
“On Number 1, corporations were able to sell billions of dollars of investment-grade bonds, allowing for more equity. It also made investors feel more secure to buy stocks, in turn giving more value and borrowing power to companies.”
“Number 2, corporations and businesses received PPP loans and as soon as they hired back their employees, they received loan forgiveness.”
“Number 3, Many people were able to go back to work. On the other hand, many people were afraid to go back to work and so stopped applying for unemployment. Some companies told their employees if they did not come back to work they could not apply for unemployment. Others have had a hard time trying to apply for unemployment because of the difficulty to understand the full process.”
“So, of course, the June unemployment rate is lower.”
Congressional District Five Candidate Joan Greene
“The Jobs Report is the GOP smoke and mirrors. Yes, we have 4.8 million people who are back to work, but the key phrase is “back to work”. These are the jobs people already had before the businesses shut down due to COVID-19.”
“Imagine how many more people would be employed if the GOP had done their job, to begin with by insisting on safety measures which include: safe distancing, contact tracing, masks, testing for those who need it and listening to the health experts.”
“The American people want facts that are based on science and experts, not misleading information from politicians playing fast and loose with their lives and livelihoods.”
Congressional District Six Candidate Dr. Hiral Tipirneni
Responding to a tweet from CD Six Representative David Schweikert who called the June Jobs Report incredible, Dr. Tipirneni posted on social media:
“Incredible, Rep. David Schweikert?”
“No, what’s incredible is 800,000 Arizonans have filed for unemployment.”
“Nearly half of adult Americans are jobless.”
“And federal unemployment assistance program is due to end on July 25 because #GOP thinks it’s unnecessary.”
“Oh, and #COVID19 is surging.”
Congressional District Eight Candidate Michael Muscato
“We should all be thankful that millions of Americans are being re-hired and getting back to work. But we should also hold this administration and those in Congress accountable for the tens of millions still out of work and for complete leadership failures in states like Arizona, Texas, Florida, and others who are now shuttering many of the same businesses and costing workers their jobs for the second time.”
“What is CD8 representative Debbie Lesko doing about the jobs report? She’s celebrating it, in the same way, Trump is as if everything is right and our economy is stronger than ever. For those keeping score at home, ask yourself this question… How can 40 million people apply for unemployment and yet the stock market still be a metric for the economy? The answer is, it never was.”
“Each week last month roughly 1.5 million more Americans filed for unemployment. If you do the math on that that’s 6 million Americans who lost their jobs. So the fact that 4.5 million Americans went back to work is good, but nowhere near recovery. Add to it that the unemployment bump of $600 weekly is set to expire in only a few weeks. Without that assistance, millions of people still out of jobs, and without those jobs coming back until the fall or beginning of next year, are going to be financially devastated. Yet our Congress fights along party lines as if the tens of millions of people who had jobs and lost them to this pandemic are somehow lazy? Truly a pathetic testament to the perspective many incumbents like my opponent have on American workers and their families. Note how Congress hasn’t missed a check…not even when they shut down.”
“Let all of this be a reminder that we cannot continue the path of 1% of the people holding 90% of the nation’s wealth. We need better jobs and higher wages. We need leaders who get that and work for that. I am proud to have the endorsement of many of Arizona’s labor unions and I will continue working for my belief that we all do better when we all do better.”
Congressional District Eight Candidate Bob Musselwhite
“The jobs report is great but only temporary. We will not have a full recovery until the public is confident that it is safe again to go out without getting sick.”
Congressional District Four Candidate Stuart Starky
“None of this (the June Jobs Report) long term matters. Our families are hurting. Of course, when the country reopens s massive number of jobs will be created. I never blamed job losses specifically on the President the job losses can be blamed on his handling of the COVID-19 crisis. This is a Trump economy. Just like Hooverville of the depression.”
“As the cases increase many of those jobs will be lost again. The incredible incompetence of the president will hurt the economy until after he is gone.”
“Long term job creation should be watched for key indicators. 1. Wage rates 2. Benefits and number of hours 3. Are they in the manufacturing sector? A million jobs delivering food is not going to sustain our economy.”
The Republican Party, in its present Fox Island-Trump Zone form, is not a governing party.
When its leaders and members deny the science and ignore the fact that the Coronavirus is surging, and the United States has a quarter of the total deaths of the whole planet, they have proven that they are not equipped to lead the nation out of the Pandemic.
That has been further demonstrated by how badly Mr. Trump and his sycophants have persisted that the problem will go away and it is not as bad as it seems. Their refusal to launch national programs on testing and contact tracing has also contributed to the poor medical and economic conditions in the country.
Their ineptitude has taken, as evidenced by the superior actions so far in other developed countries, a manageable situation and turned it into an economic catastrophe with an avoidable larger loss of life
A new governing team is needed to protect the people and steer the country in the right direction.
November 3, 2020, is 119 days away.
Too bad the election is not tomorrow.
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