Sherlock's, a pub in Addison, Texas, has a sign out front that reads, "Now Hiring", Friday, June 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
By Christopher Rugaber
The United States added 1.8 million jobs in July, a pullback from the gains of May and June and evidence that the resurgent coronavirus is stalling hiring and slowing an economic rebound.
With confirmed viral cases still elevated in much of the nation and businesses under continued pressure, many employers appear reluctant or unable to hire. Even counting the hiring of the past three months, the economy has now recovered only about 42% of the 22 million jobs it lost to the pandemic-induced recession, according to the Labor Department’s jobs report released Friday.
The unemployment rate did decline in July from 11.1% to 10.2%, though that still exceeds the highest rate during the 2008-2009 Great Recession.
The acceleration of the viral outbreak that began in late June more than doubled the daily U.S. confirmed case count by mid-July, though the rate of new reported cases has since declined. The outbreaks have led many states and cities to close bars and other businesses for a second time and have dampened confidence, causing many consumers to continue limiting their shopping, traveling, eating out and gathering in crowds.
July’s job gain was much lower than June’s 4.8 million and May’s 2.7 million jobs, both of which were revised slightly.
The economy is struggling to emerge from the devastating recession that caused the economy to shrink at a nearly 33% annual rate in the April-June quarter, the worst quarterly fall on record. Employers slashed their work forces, consumers cut spending and corporations pulled back on investment and expansion.
The economy has since started to grow again, and many economists have forecast a solid rebound in the July-September quarter, though not nearly enough to offset the second quarter’s dizzying fall.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said Thursday that the majority of iPhones sold in the U.S. in the current fiscal quarter will be sourced from India, while iPads and other devices will come from Vietnam as the company works to avoid the impact of President Trump’s tariffs on its business. Apple’s earnings for the first three months of the year topped Wall Street’s expectations thanks to high demand for its iPhones, and the company said tariffs had a limited effect on the fiscal second quarter’s results. Cook added that for the current quarter, assuming things don’t change, Apple expects to see $900 million added to its costs as a result of the tariffs.
Visa is hoping to hand your credit card to an artificial intelligence “agent” that can find and buy clothes, groceries, airplane tickets and other items on your behalf.
Skift Editor-In-Chief Sarah Kopit discusses how summer travel plans remain uncertain for most as many international travelers are leery to travel abroad. Watch!
Seth Schachner, Managing Director at Strat Americas, on Hollywood's latest blockbusters utilizing content creation. Plus, the future of YouTube and TikTok.
Ashley Gold, Axios' Tech/Policy reporter, discusses what the future of Google and search engines will look like after the tech giant faces an antitrust trial.
A labor rights group has alleged that Starbucks sourced coffee from a major Brazilian cooperative whose member farms were cited for keeping workers in slave-like conditions.
