for two weeks so it can implement anti-fraud
technology and address a backlog of 600,000
applications that are more than three weeks old.
Overall jobless aid has shrunk in recent
weeks even as roughly 25 million people rely
upon it. The loss of that income is likely to
weaken spending and the economy in the
coming months.
A $600-a-week federal check that Congress
provided in last spring’s economic aid package
was available to the unemployed in addition
to each state’s jobless benefit. But the $600
benefit expired at the end of July. A $300 weekly
benefit that President Donald Trump offered
through an executive order lasted only through
mid-September, although some states are still
working to send out checks for that period.
A result is that Americans’ incomes and
spending are declining or slowing. Total paid
unemployment benefits plunged by more than
half in August, according to the Commerce
Department. Consumer spending did rise 1%
that month, down from 1.5% in July. But that
increase relied in part on consumers drawing
upon their savings.
“Unless employment growth picks up, or
additional (government) aid is extended,
consumer spending is at risk of slowing
dramatically during the second phase of the
recovery,” said Gregory Daco, an economist at
Oxford Economics.
Other measures of the U.S. economy have been
sending mixed signals. Consumer confidence
jumped in September, fueled by optimism
among higher-income households, though
it remains below pre-pandemic levels. And