WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The number of people in July who were unable to work at some point over the previous four weeks due to the coronavirus pandemic dropped steadily, while the number of people who did not look for work because of those health concerns remained largely unchanged, data showed on Friday.
The latest Bureau of Labor Statistics figures were part of an ongoing additional survey of households carried out by the U.S. government that accompanies the monthly jobs report since the beginning of the pandemic.
They provide further evidence that so far the recent rapid rise in COVID-19 cases due to the Delta variant has not altered the pace of a strong jobs recovery. Daily new COVID-19 cases have climbed to a six-month high in the United States, with more than 100,000 infections reported nationwide.
Approximately 5.15 million people were unable to work in July or reported reduced hours due to their business either closing entirely or cutting back operations, down from roughly 6.21 million the prior month, according to the survey.
Those not seeking work at all due to the pandemic remained unchanged at 1.6 million overall, although there was a slight uptick in the number of Black, Hispanic and Asian people staying on the sidelines due to COVID-19.
Both sets of data tally with Labor Department’s closely watched employment report released on Friday, which showed U.S. job growth powering ahead and the unemployment rate falling last month to a 16-month low amid demand for workers in the labor-intensive services sector.
Employment is now 5.7 million jobs below its peak in February 2020.
But the headline figures masked deepening racial disparities, with the share of Black people either working or looking for work falling 0.8 points last month to 60.8%.
The additional household survey also showed in July a continued decline in the number of people who teleworked over the past four weeks. Roughly 13.2% of adults aged 16 and over said they worked from home, down from 14.4% in June.
The future pace of job gains could still hinge on any disruption caused by rising coronavirus cases. Real-time Chase card spending data suggests the Delta variant could cause pockets of pullback in economic activity in the weeks ahead, JPMorgan analysts Jesse Edgerton and Peter McCrory wrote in a client note on Friday.
“Spending in some travel and entertainment categories … has softened… By contrast, restaurant spending has softened only modestly and thus far much less than in the winter wave,” they said, adding that the experience of other countries means the impact could be brief.
(Reporting by Lindsay Dunsmuir; Editing by Nick Zieminski)
