Reversal on jobs dampens mood on US economy

The coronavirus recession struck swiftly and violently. Now, with the US economy still in the grip of the outbreak five months later, the recovery looks fitful and uneven－and painfully slow.

The latest evidence came on Thursday, when the government reported that the number of workers applying for unemployment benefits climbed back above 1 million last week after two weeks of declines.

The figures suggest that employers are still slashing jobs even as some businesses reopen and some sectors like housing and manufacturing have rebounded.

"Getting the virus in check dictates when there'll be relief from this economic nightmare, and it doesn't look like it will be soon," said Ann Elizabeth Konkel, an economist at Indeed, a job listings website.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected 923,000 new claims to be filed.

"The number of individuals claiming benefits remains extraordinarily high－more than twice the peak of the Great Recession－underscoring that the labor market is a long way from being healthy," said Nancy Vanden Houten, lead economist at Oxford Economics, in a research note.

Until the virus can be brought under control, economists agree, any recovery is destined to remain weak.

The scourge in the United States has killed more than 170,000 people and caused more than 5.5 million infections, with deaths rising by more than 1,000 a day on average. Worldwide, the death toll stands at about 790,000, with over 22 million cases.

The economy shut down in March as governors ordered stores, restaurants, bars, gyms, theaters and many schools to close as part of the effort to limit the spread of the virus.

Twenty-two million jobs were lost to the outbreak in March and April. In the past three months, only 9.3 million have been regained, and unemployment remains high at 10.2 percent.

As shutdowns rippled through the workforce, initial jobless claims spiked by 3 million to a then-record 3.3 million in the week ending on March 21, and then doubled to a record 6.87 million in the week ending on March 28. Before the shutdowns, the unemployment was rate was 3.5 percent－near a record low.

Consumer spending represents about 66 percent of the US economy.

Mounting fears in Europe

In Europe, meanwhile, fears mounted over rising infections, many of them attributed to vacationers and young people lowering their guard.

Italy added nearly 850 cases to its count, with Sardinia becoming a hot spot because of people partying at nightclubs and other venues without masks. Greece reported 269 new infections, matching a record high set two days earlier. Amid a surge in Spain, emergency coordinator Fernando Simon said younger people should take into account the risk of infecting older relatives.

"Nobody should be fooled. Things are not going well," he said.

In France, President Emmanuel Macron insisted the country will send millions of students back to school from Sept 1, despite the biggest weekly spike in cases since the height of the outbreak in March and April－over 18,000.

"The return to school will happen" in the coming days, Macron said. "We will not bring our countries to a halt, but we will have to learn to live with the virus."

Scott Reeves in New York, agencies and Xinhua contributed to this story.