Despite the labor market weakness, the economy is unlikely to fall back into recession, with a backstop of nearly $900 billion in additional pandemic relief approved by the government last week
Emergency unemployment benefits of roughly 14 million ended on Saturday
The number of initial jobless claims in the US increased to reach 853,000 last week, the highest since mid-September, the Labour Department reported
US lawmakers closed in on a Covid-19 relief bill that would provide roughly $300 in extra federal weekly unemployment benefits but not another round of $1,200 in direct payments to most Americans
The United States is in the midst of a fresh wave of COVID-19 infections, with 4.2 million new cases and more than 35,000 coronavirus-related deaths reported in November.
The intensifying pandemic is threatening to accelerate the pace of layoffs
US employers added 638,000 jobs in October and the unemployment rate dropped to 6.9%, as the nation's coronavirus-ravaged labour market continues to slowly recover, the Labour Department reported
Beijing is set to expand a programme that administers experimental coronavirus vaccines as Chinese developers chart a risky path to dominating global supplies
The mass exit of women from their jobs coincided with the start of the US school year, with many children learning online and at home
The slowdown in hiring compounds problems for Trump, who announced overnight that he had tested positive for coronavirus
The unemployment rate fell last month to 7.9% from 8.4% in August
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told lawmakers on Wednesday that Congress and the U.S. central bank needed to "stay with it" in working to support the economy's recovery
Much of last month's growth came from spending at restaurants and bars, which are just starting to let people in to eat and drink
The president has built an enduring brand with conservative voters, in particular, who continue to see him as a successful businessman and tough negotiator
The Labour Department said Wednesday that the number of US job postings on the last day of July rose to 6.6 million from 6 million at the end of June
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 1.371 million jobs last month after advancing 1.734 million in July, the Labor Department's closely watched employment report showed
Consumer spending will probably remain weak relative to the past as people avoid activities that require high levels of social interaction for health reasons, Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren said
Weakening of the labour market has raised fears the economy will shed jobs again in July, after sharp hiring gains in May and June
The new report also showed that the four-week moving average, a method to iron out data volatility, decreased by 63,000 to reach 1.4 million
With the latest numbers, a staggering 47 million initial jobless claims have been filed over the past 14 weeks