Jobs gains big boost for Trump 2020 re-election hopes

While not a “rocket ship” recovery, the stunning reversal in jobs numbers during the coronavirus pandemic could help improve President Trump’s gloomy job prospects for next year and rob Democrats of a key issue.

Economists — who have never been thrilled with Trump anyway — appear to have badly missed the mark on the improved employment outlook, and you have to wonder why.

Did the political views and groupthink mentality of those Ivy League-trained analysts get in the way of good forecasting?

Pretty much all the experts said the unemployment rate would approach or zoom past 20% as the coronavirus-riddled economy struggled to rebound.

But the rebound appears to be here already. Not only did the unemployment rate fall to 13.3%, but more than 2 million new jobs were added.

The gains appear to have been boosted by hundreds of thousands of jobs in the construction industry and more than a million new jobs in the leisure and hospitality industry, which were decimated by the coronavirus.

Trump’s repeated calls for states to reopen their economies worked. The country is getting back to work quicker than anyone expected. The unemployment numbers represented some rare good news for Trump, who has been reeling from domestic protests and coronavirus-related job losses.

This is the Democrats’ biggest fear and exactly why some Democrats and Trump haters have been so resistant to let states reopen.

“Oh, no, the Dems are worried again,” Trump tweeted. “The only one that can kill this comeback is Sleepy Joe Biden!”

It’s a reality that Trump is never going to win the election unless the economy improves, and that has been driving both sides’ arguments from the beginning.

The president, of course, couldn’t wait to bask in the good news, and urged more states to end their coronavirus lockdowns before traveling to Maine. which reopened weeks ago.

“This is what these numbers are all about — it’s extremely important to remember that many of our states are closed or almost closed,” Trump said. “Some of the big ones — New York, New Jersey they’ll start, they’re starting now to get open, I hope.”

Throw Massachusetts in there, too. With Gov. Charlie Baker set to allow restaurants and retailers to open again, the state’s surging unemployment rate should also start to fall. Even the usually pained Baker had to admit the good news.

“Frankly, it’s been good to see people have an opportunity to get back to work, either remotely or back at the place that they used to call their office,” an unusually upbeat Baker said on Friday.

Of course, it’s too soon to take any victory laps. The deadly coronavirus is still out there, and any resurgence in the pandemic could force states to shut down once again. This fragile, mini-recovery may not last, some economists are warning.

But they were wrong before, and probably will be wrong again.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2A9SXB1