US Economy Awaiting Stimulus Package After Job Numbers

The United States economy created a less than expected number of new jobs last month, as per data released on Friday.

November saw the smallest increase in non-farm payrolls since in six months, or since the recovery from the Coronavirus crisis began.

This comes amid an increase in the number of new Coronavirus cases across the states with a new wave of the pandemic.

In addition, the lack of government stimulus is hindering the market recovery to its pre-crisis levels.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 245,000 jobs in November, according to the US Department of Labor.

This is less than half of the 610,000-job increase seen in October, and the fifth consecutive monthly decline in the number of new jobs.

Nevertheless, the unemployment rate in the US declined to 6.7% from 6.9%.

Commenting on the data, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow was cited by Reuters on Friday as saying that the US economy remains strong despite the decline in new jobs.

“When you look at the whole economic landscape, I would say it’s still very strong and I would say it’s still a V-shaped recovery,” Kudlow told Fox Business Network in a recent interview.

It is worth noting that job openings in the United States showed a modest increase in September, as the market recovers from the impact of the COVID-19 crisis, data showed on Tuesday.

The job openings rose by 84,000 to 6.4 million by the end of September, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS).

However, new job openings maintained their level below 7 million, which was registered in February ahead of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Job openings rate remained unchanged at 4.3% in September.

Meanwhile, layoffs decreased by 200,000 to 1.3 million, with their rate falling to 0.9% from 1.1% in August.

The United States Secretary of Treasury, Steven Mnuchin, recently that ending lending programs by the Federal Reserve on December 31 is necessary with the market now in need for grants more than loans.

Mnuchin urged Congress to pass legislation to provide such grants.

The move was reportedly criticized by the Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans.