Although nearly a third of people in the U.S. have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, workers for small businesses are still taking virus-related leave in increasing numbers, according to a survey released Monday by the National Federation of Independent Business.
(Barbara Leonard photo/Courthouse News)
MANHATTAN (CN) A hugely disappointing jobs report left investors nonplussed but still able to climb back into positive territory for the week.
Many experts had predicted the payroll report would show 1 million non-farm jobs were gained in April. Come Friday, however, the Bureau of Labor Statistics put the final number at an increase of only 266,000 jobs, with the unemployment rate inching up a bit to 6.1%.
The most apt reaction to the news came from Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, who merely tweeted “Oh.”
Just after the report was released, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq each took a slight hit, but by the closing bell all three indices had posted modest gains for the day. For the week, the Dow increased 902 points, while the S&P 500 gained 51 points. The Nasdaq, while a winner on Friday, lost 210 points for the week.
MARC LEVY Associated Press
AP Photo/Keith Srakocic
A tractor trailer rig pulls into a terminal for a trucking company that has a $10,000 hiring bonus offer posted on a trailer at their facility in Harmony, Pa., Wednesday, May 5.
HARRISBURG Republicans in Pennsylvania’s GOP-controlled Legislature are advancing legislation to reinstate work-search requirements for people claiming unemployment benefits, with one survey showing that workers aren’t taking open jobs at a record rate.
The bill cleared the House Labor and Industry Committee on a party-line vote Tuesday.
Lawmakers suspended the work-search requirement through 2020 amid the pandemic last year, and Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, extended the waiver administratively into this year. The bill would reinstate the requirement starting June 8.
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