Unemployment

U.S. employers sharply scaled back their hiring last month as the coronavirus pandemic put new pressure on restaurants, retailers and other businesses. The Labor Department said Friday that employers added just 245,000 jobs in November, down from a revised 610,000 in October.

Employers remain cautious about hiring, one economist says, “but the resurgence of the virus is really the main culprit.”

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell only slightly last week, adding to signs that the economic recovery was losing steam as the COVID-19 pandemic intensifies and fiscal stimulus ends.

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, but remained very high as the labor market recovery shows signs of strain amid a relentless COVID-19 pandemic and ebbing fiscal stimulus.

Americans filed another 898,000 first-time jobless claims last week on a seasonally-adjusted basis, according to the Department of Labor. That's more than economists had expected and up 53,000 from the prior week.

Secret on Monday kicked off its #RaiseItUp initiative, an effort aimed at supporting women's equality programs in partnership with YMCA USA, per a press release.

Another 870,000 new applications for unemployment insurance were processed last week, a slight increase from the week before, as unemployment claims remain stubbornly high six months into the pandemic.

Retail sales climbed 0.6 percent in August, but the increase was smaller than in previous months, prompting concerns of a recovery that is running out of steam.

American Airlines AAL.O Chief Executive Doug Parker and seven major airline unions on Wednesday made a new push to win additional government assistance to keep nearly 20,000 workers on the payroll past Oct. 1.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance beat Wall Street estimates last week as the U.S. economy enters a critical new stage. Filings totaled 860,000 for the week ended Sept. 12, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected 875,000, against the previous week’s upwardly revised 893,000.