Coronavirus likely ended record US job growth in March
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Splash
    • Videos
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Saturday
July 02, 2022

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Splash
    • Videos
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
SATURDAY, JULY 02, 2022
Coronavirus likely ended record US job growth in March

Global Economy

Reuters
03 April, 2020, 05:20 pm
Last modified: 03 April, 2020, 05:24 pm

Related News

  • US stocks see worst first half drop since 1970
  • Some investors bet top growth stocks will thrive in US recession
  • China not giving material support for Russia's war in Ukraine -US official
  • US adds 'Cryptoqueen' to most-wanted list over alleged $4 billion fraud
  • As Jan 6 hearings portray an enraged Trump, DeSantis may be biggest winner

Coronavirus likely ended record US job growth in March

The United States has the highest number of confirmed cases of Covid-19, the respiratory illness caused by the virus, with more than 214,000 people infected

Reuters
03 April, 2020, 05:20 pm
Last modified: 03 April, 2020, 05:24 pm
People walk on a temporarily closed section of the Grand Concourse during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the Bronx borough of New York City, New York, US, April 2, 2020/ Reuters
People walk on a temporarily closed section of the Grand Concourse during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the Bronx borough of New York City, New York, US, April 2, 2020/ Reuters

The US economy likely shed jobs in March, abruptly ending a historic 113 straight months of employment growth as stringent measures to control the coronavirus pandemic shuttered businesses and factories, confirming a recession is underway.

The Labor Department's closely watched employment report on Friday will not fully reflect the economic carnage being inflected by the contagious coronavirus. The government surveyed businesses and households for the report in mid-March, before a large section of the population was under some form of a lockdown, throwing millions out of work.

Friday's report could sharpen criticism of the Trump administration's handling of the public health crisis, with President Donald Trump himself facing criticism for playing down the threat of the pandemic in its initial phases. Already, data has shown a record 10 million Americans filed claims for unemployment benefits in the last two weeks of March.

The United States has the highest number of confirmed cases of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the virus, with more than 214,000 people infected. Nearly 5,000 people in the country have died from the illness, according to a Reuters tally.

"The economy has fallen into the abyss," said Chris Rupkey, chief economist at MUFG in New York. "Everywhere you look Washington and state governments were not prepared for the rapid spread of the virus and the devastating damage that would be done to the economy if businesses were shut down and workers sent home."

According to a Reuters survey of economists, nonfarm payrolls probably decreased by 100,000 jobs last month, snapping a record streak of employment gains dating to October 2010. Payrolls increased by 273,000 jobs in February.

With jobless claims, the most timely indicator of labor market health, breaking records over the last couple of weeks and a majority of Americans now under "stay-at-home" or "shelter-in-place" orders, Oxford Economics is predicting payrolls could plunge by at least 20 million jobs in April, which would blow away the record 800,000 tumble in March 2009.

Economists also worry the rapid closure of businesses could make it difficult for the Labor Department to accurately capture the magnitude of layoffs. There are also perceptions that a $2.3 trillion fiscal package signed by President Donald Trump last week, which makes generous provisions for the unemployed, and the federal government's easing of requirements for workers to seek benefits could also be driving the jobless claims numbers higher.

"The April report should better reflect the severity of the recession, though the exact numbers are hard to pin down," said Michelle Meyer, a US economist at Bank of America Securities in New York. "Businesses that have closed won't be responding to the survey."

ADDITIONAL STIMULUS NEEDED

The unemployment rate is forecast to have increased three-tenths of a percentage point to 3.8 percent in March. With the ranks of the unemployed ballooning, economists say the jobless rate could top 10 percent in April. Mounting job losses spell disaster for gross domestic product, and economists say the government and the Federal Reserve will need to provide additional stimulus.

Some also argued a portion of cash payments to American families was likely to be saved, not spent, pointing to similar patterns in the early 2000s.

Economists believe GDP contracted sharply in the first quarter and that the economy slipped into recession in March.

The National Bureau of Economic Research, the private research institute regarded as the arbiter of US recessions, does not define a recession as two consecutive quarters of decline in real gross domestic product, as is the rule of thumb in many countries. Instead, it looks for a drop in activity, spread across the economy and lasting more than a few months.

"It is premature to predict a V-shaped economic recovery based on the massive stimulus program," said Sung Won Sohn, a business economic professor at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. "To put the economy back on its feet we need a bigger plan which will include infrastructure. We have a lot more pain ahead of us."

Wage growth is expected to have remained steady in March, but that is all in the rear view mirror. Average hourly earnings are forecast rising 0.2 percent in March after increasing 0.3 percent in February. That probably kept the annual increase in wages at 3.0 percent. The average workweek likely fell to 34.1 hours last month from 34.4 hours in February.

The anticipated job losses in March were probably spread across all industries, with deep cuts in the leisure and hospitality sector, which has seen restaurants and bars, movie theaters and other social gathering venues closed.

Transportation and warehousing payrolls likely declined further after shedding 4,000 jobs in February as shipping volumes at ports have plummeted. But hiring for the 2020 Census likely boosted government employment in March.

Coronavirus chronicle / World+Biz

USA

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • In rain, heat, filth – they fight against cancer
    In rain, heat, filth – they fight against cancer
  • Tejgaon Industrial Area has become an illegal parking lot for all kinds of vehicles, from buses to trucks to rickshaws. Photo: Mumit M
    Rickshaw garages and truck stands: How Tejgaon Industrial Area turned into a mess
  • TBS Illustration
    Universities may launch online classes again after Eid

MOST VIEWED

  • FILE PHOTO: A worker is seen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., February 28, 2020. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
    Wall St Week Ahead: Investors brace for pivotal July after dismal first half
  • Feeble global factory growth feeds recession fears
    Feeble global factory growth feeds recession fears
  • India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russia's President Vladimir Putin. File Photo: Reuters
    India says Modi, Russia's Putin discuss energy, food markets
  • Photo: Collected
    Ukraine requests Turkey detain Russian-flagged ship it says carrying Ukrainian grain
  • A man counts Pakistani banknotes along a roadside in Islamabad, Pakistan, November 16, 2017. REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood
    Indian rupee hits record lows despite cenbank intervention
  • A general view of Two International Finance Centre (IFC), HSBC headquarters and Bank of China in Hong Kong, China July 13, 2021. Photo :Reuters
    Hong Kong-mainland trade surges more than sixfold in 25 years

Related News

  • US stocks see worst first half drop since 1970
  • Some investors bet top growth stocks will thrive in US recession
  • China not giving material support for Russia's war in Ukraine -US official
  • US adds 'Cryptoqueen' to most-wanted list over alleged $4 billion fraud
  • As Jan 6 hearings portray an enraged Trump, DeSantis may be biggest winner

Features

The eye-catching commuter: Suzuki Gixxer SF 155

The eye-catching commuter: Suzuki Gixxer SF 155

38m | Wheels
Photo: Collected

Sapiens – A Graphic History 

22h | Book Review
Black-naped Monarch male  Photo: Enam Ul Haque

Black-naped Monarch: A sovereign who never abandoned the Indian subcontinent

23h | Panorama
The 136-year-old company on its last legs

The 136-year-old company on its last legs

1d | Features

More Videos from TBS

Dhaka University celebrating 102nd founding anniversary today

Dhaka University celebrating 102nd founding anniversary today

22h | Videos
Ctg Int'l Trade Fair returns after a 2-year hiatus without Covid restrictions

Ctg Int'l Trade Fair returns after a 2-year hiatus without Covid restrictions

22h | Videos
Bangladeshis among top 6 nationalities seeking asylum in Europe

Bangladeshis among top 6 nationalities seeking asylum in Europe

23h | Videos
RUET organises Robotronics 2.0

RUET organises Robotronics 2.0

23h | Videos

Most Read

1
Padma Bridge from satellite. Photo: Screengrab
Bangladesh

Padma Bridge from satellite 

2
Meet the man behind 'Azke amar mon balo nei'
Splash

Meet the man behind 'Azke amar mon balo nei'

3
Photo: TBS
Bangladesh

Motorcycles banned on Padma Bridge 

4
Photo: Collected
Economy

Tech startup ShopUp bags $65m in Series B4 funding

5
World Bank to give Bangladesh $18b IDA loans in next five years
Economy

World Bank to give Bangladesh $18b IDA loans in next five years

6
Investor Hiru fined Tk2cr for market manipulation
Stocks

Investor Hiru fined Tk2cr for market manipulation

EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2022
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab
BENEATH THE SURFACE
The Dazzling Fake Flowers: Is there any alternative to artificial flowers while decorating homes, showrooms, offices and business establishments? Fresh flowers are undoubtedly beautiful, but they dry out quickly. Hence, the demand for plastic flowers is rising day by day. Traders said these lifelike silk flowers usually come from China and Thailand. The photo was taken from the 29th International Trade Fair of the Chattogram Chamber on Friday. PHOTO: Mohammad Minhaj Uddin

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net