Democrats are not cooperating with the president to implement another $ 1 trillion aid program • In May-July, 40 percent of Corona's unemployed returned to work

• Closed business in Sweden

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  IPA Archive

Impressive achievement for President Donald Trump with the release of a better employment report than early expectations. Strict restrictions continue to be imposed on residents. At the same time, the unemployment rate fell by almost a full percentage point - from 11.1% in June to 10.2% at the end of July. 

Trump, of course, welcomed the employment data, and in the same breath again threatened to exercise his authority in the form of a presidential decree to carry out his $ 1 trillion incentive program for the economy - given the deadlock between White House and Democratic lawmakers. In the last three months (May-July), 9.2 million people returned to the American economy - more than 40% of the 22 million workers who became unemployed following the corona.

"Despite the rise in morbidity, the hope is that the rise in the employment rate will continue to be consistent," Tony Bedikian, a senior at Citizens Bank, told Fox Business. This is good news for Trump, after the dismal growth figures were released last week, which allegedly indicated the erasure of a third of the US economy in the second quarter of this year.

However, this is only a partial presentation, as it is a figure that takes into account that the strict restrictions imposed on the economy in April-June, at the height of the corona eruption, will continue throughout the year. In practice, many of the restrictions have already been released and therefore there is a recovery in the labor market. Therefore, without seasonal adjustment, the rate of decrease in US GDP in the previous quarter amounted to 9.5%. 

The US stock market reacted to the data with a mixed trend: the S&P index recorded gains in a row on Friday - the best figure for 16 months. The Dow Jones also rose slightly, while the Nasdaq lost close to 1%, in the face of sharp declines in leading technology companies' indices amid rising tensions between the US and China.

The heavy price of Sweden 

Meanwhile, Sweden recorded the worst quarter in its history in the modern era, with a 8.6% drop in GDP in the second quarter - even though it was one of the few countries in the West that refused to impose significant restrictions on its economy. 

By comparison, at the height of the 2008 economic crisis, Sweden's economy contracted by only 3.8% - more than twice as much. However, Swedes showed improved economic performance compared to most European countries, after the European trade bloc fell on average by 12.1% in the second quarter.  

In balance with the health price, Sweden seems to have gone out and rented at a loss: As of last night, the death toll in the country stood at 570 victims per million inhabitants - more than the US and Brazil, almost as much as Italy and 9 times more than Israel. Identical to that of Sweden, the death toll in the country due to the corona was 5,200, compared to 580 in practice.