Jun 10, 2020 - Economy & Business

The U.S. saw only 3.5 million new hires in April

Dion Rabouin, author of Markets
Data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; Chart: Axios Visuals

There were 5.05 million job openings at U.S. companies at the end of April — the lowest total since December 2014, according to the latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS).

By the numbers: The number of hires during the month was 3.52 million, the lowest in the history of the report, dating back to 2000, and the first time the number of hires has been below 4 million since early 2010.

  • The 9.89 million total separations (including layoffs, quits, retirements and other reasons individuals left their jobs) was the second highest on record, trailing only the 14.63 million separations in March.
  • The quits rate, a gauge of worker confidence in finding another job, fell to 1.4%, the lowest since April 2011.

Go deeper ... Humility for forecasters: Jobs shocker is record miss

Go deeper

Axios
Updated Oct 16, 2020 - Health

U.S. coronavirus updates

Expand chart
Data: The COVID Tracking Project; Note: Does not include probable deaths from New York City; Map: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

The U.S. surpassed 8 million coronavirus cases on Friday, per Johns Hopkins data.

The big picture: Coronavirus infections jumped by almost 17% over the past week as the number of new cases across the country increased in 38 states and Washington, D.C., according to a seven-day average tracked by Axios.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Dion Rabouin, author of Markets
Sep 4, 2020 - Economy & Business

Unreliable data is complicating the unemployment crisis

Data: Department of Labor; Chart: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

The U.S. unemployment picture looks to be improving but it's increasingly being clouded by shoddy data, a problem that seems to be getting worse as the pandemic progresses.

What's happening: The number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits rose to 29.2 million for the latest week of data, the Department of Labor announced Thursday.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Amy Harder, author of Generate
3 hours ago - Energy & Environment

Climate change goes mainstream in presidential debate

Photo illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photo: Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty

The most notable part of Thursday’s presidential debate on climate change was the fact it was included as a topic and assumed as a fact.

The big picture: This is the first time in U.S. presidential history that climate change was a featured issue at a debate. It signals how the problem has become part of the fabric of our society. More extreme weather, like the wildfires ravaging Colorado, is pushing the topic to the front-burner.

Go deeper (2 min. read)Arrow