“I think that with the infection rate still souring the US economy is still a vulnerable economy and is likely to experience further lockdown,” predicted Roach.
The US House of Representatives was set to vote on Wednesday on a one-week stopgap funding bill that will buy more time to reach a deal on COVID-19 relief.
"These kids are struggling. They were struggling before COVID, and everybody looks past them," social worker Lindsey Esposito said.
And while the Labor Department data showed the unemployment rate dipped to 6.7 from 6.9 percent, the lowest since the pandemic struck, 10.7 million workers remain unemployed.
A fast-rising case count and uncertainty about a fiscal relief bill drove the steepest U.S. stock market sell-off in a month, with the benchmark S&P 500 index posting its biggest daily decline in four weeks on Monday, flattening the U.S. Treasury yield curve.
Spending by unemployed consumers also increased by 22% after they started receiving enhanced jobless benefits, which increased state jobless benefits by $600 a week through July.
Many small businesses are reducing staff to adjust to lower demand, and the level of people filing for jobless claims for the first time each week remains elevated six months after the shutdown.
If this rate of initial claims continues, you have to imagine the recent improvements in the labor market are going to slow.
Kudlow, speaking to reporters at the White House, defended a reduction in the unemployment supplement to $300 from $600 early in the coronavirus pandemic.
I think the economy is on a self-sustaining recovery and it's a V-shaped recovery," he said. ""We're seeing terrific numbers.
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index rose 6 points to 78, matching a series record set in 1998.
Housing has clearly been a bright spot during the pandemic and the sharp rebound in builder confidence over the summer has led NAHB to upgrade its forecast for single-family starts.