A 'Pandemic Low': Unemployment Rate Decline 'Bigger Than Expected'

Cortney O'Brien | November 12, 2020 10:15 AM

A week after we reported on the U.S. jobs report that showed we were on the "path to recovery," adding 638,000 more jobs and slashing the unemployment rate to 6.9 percent, the Department of Labor has shared more good news. The number of first-time unemployment claims fell by 48,000 from the previous week to 709,000. It is, as MarketWatch noted, a "pandemic low."

"The decline was bigger than expected," MarketWatch writes. "Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast initial jobless claims to fall to 731,000 in the seven days ended Nov. 7."

The Trump campaign, still fighting to win lawsuits and turn around the 2020 presidential election in their favor, said it's cause for celebration.

Good economic news!

As the Labor market continues to heal, Jobless Claims fall the most in 5 weeks, to a new pandemic low. pic.twitter.com/etelIGGNdQ
— Steve Cortes (@CortesSteve) November 12, 2020

“We are continuing to move in the right direction after a historic GDP report and a blockbuster jobs report," said Alfredo Ortiz, president and CEO of the Jobs Creators Network, in a statement. "President Trump’s pro-growth policies and commitment to safely reopen society are clearly paying dividends. We should see even further gains, now that Pfizer has created a vaccine that is more than 90 percent effective against COVID-19."

But, Ortiz worries that a Biden presidency would jeopardize these steps in the right direction.

"America is coming back strong, but all that progress is threatened by the prospect of a Biden presidency," he writes. "If Biden survives the President’s legal challenges and is joined by a Democratic Congress, it will stop America’s recovery in its tracks. That’s why Georgia’s two Senate races are so important. If the Democrats win those races, they will control the Senate and enact a radical, left-wing agenda. JCN, which has roots in Georgia, will be educating and motivating Georgia voters about the implications of a Democratic Senate. The stakes are incredibly high, and we’re going to be doing our part. We also need a new stimulus bill with an extension of the Paycheck Protection Program. Leader McConnell has been working diligently to renew the PPP but he needs the Democrats to negotiate in good faith. This is the perfect time to get it done. The Democrats have no more excuses.”