Borneo Bulletin Digital

10 / 24

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2020 10 Business
WASHINGTON (AP) — United States
(US) unemployment droppedsharp-
ly in August from 10.2 per cent to a
still-high 8.4 per cent, with about
half the 22 million jobs lost to the
coronavirus outbreak recovered so
far, the government said on Friday
in one of the last major economic
reports before Election Day.
Employers added 1.4 million
jobs last month, down from 1.7 mil-
lion in July and the fewest since
hiring resumed in May. And an in-
creasingly large share of Americans
reported that their jobs are gone
for good, according to the Labor
Department report.
Altogether, that was seen by
economists as evidence that fur-
ther improvement is going to be
sluggish and uneven.
“The fact that employment
is settling into a trend of slower,
grinding growth is worrisome
for the broader recovery,” said
Lydia Boussour, an economist at
Oxford Economics.
Still, US President Donald
Trump, who is seeking reelection
in less than two months amid the
worst economic downturn since
the Depression in the 1930s, exult-
ed over the latest unemployment
˜igure, saying, “That is many, many
months ahead of schedule.”
Democratic nominee Joe Biden
downplayed the report and said the
viral outbreak is still weighing on
the economy.
“Donald Trump may be the only
president inmodern history to leave
of˜ice with fewer jobs than when he
took of˜ice,” Biden said.
The US has 4.7 million fewer
jobs now than when Trump was in-
augurated, but if the monthly gains
continue at the same pace as in
August, those jobs would be recov-
ered by January.
Friday’s ˜igures were the next-
to-last employment report before
the presidential election on No-
vember 3. For many voters, the un-
employment rate is the most visible
measure of the economy.
Should unemployment keep
dropping rapidly, it could near sev-
en per cent by early November, said
Michael Strain, an economist at the
American Enterprise Institute.
“That’s bad, it’s too high,
many people will be suffering, but
you can see healthy from there,”
Strain said. “The question always
has been: What’s going to mat-
ter more on Election Day — the
rate of improvement of the econ-
omy or the absolute condition of
the economy?”
The drop in unemployment was
sharper than most economists ex-
pected and was attributed mainly
to businesses recalling workers
who had been temporarily laid off.
Private companies added just
over one million jobs in August,
with the government providing
nearly 350,000 others, includ-
ing a quarter-million temporary
census workers. The fall in private
hiring from 1.5 million jobs in July
was seen as a sign that employers
remain cautious with the virus still
out of control.
The outbreak is blamed for
about 187,000 deaths and almost
US unemployment rate
falls to 8.4pc even as
hiring slows
6.2 million con˜irmed infections in
the US, by far the highest totals in
the world.
Chief Economist at Regions
Financial Richard Moody noted
that about half the private sec-
tor job gains were in three cat-
egories: retail, restaurants, hotels
and healthcare. All have bene˜it-
ted from the re-opening of most
states’ economies.
“When the reopening effect
wears off, the overall job gains in
coming months should be consid-
erably smaller,” he said.
Retailers added 250,000 jobs,
led by big gains at warehouse clubs
and supercentres, and restaurants,
hotels and entertainment ˜irms
gained 174,000. Healthcare added
90,000. But manufacturers, which
are enjoying a jump in demand,
particularly for cars, added just
29,000 jobs, one-tenth of their job
growth in June.
Construction added just 16,000
despite strong home building.
After an epic collapse in the
spring, when the economy shrank
at a roughly 30 per cent annual rate,
growth has been rebounding as
states have reopened at least parts
of their economies. But uncertainty
is running high, and many compa-
nies are still cutting jobs, with most
of the layoffs permanent.
Hotel operator MGM Resorts,
slammed by declines in travel
and tourism, said last week that it
is eliminating 18,000 jobs. Coca
Cola, which derives half its sales
from stadiums, theatres and other
venues that have been largely shut
down, is offering buyouts to 4,000
employees. Bed, Bath & Beyond will
shed 2,800 jobs.
More than 20 per cent of small
businesses are still closed, a ˜igure
that has been ˜lat since June, ac-
cording to Homebase, a provider
of time-management software to
small companies.
Millions of people have given
up looking for work since the out-
break began, many to avoid con-
tracting the coronavirus. That has
helped bring down the jobless rate,
because the government doesn’t
count people as unemployed un-
less they are actively seeking jobs.
In Friday’s report, less than half
of the 13.6 million unemployed said
their layoffs were temporary, down
from three-quarters in April.
President of Christmas Decor
Brandon Stephens, is struggling
with the uncertainty. The business
has 300 franchised outlets across
the US that are mostly landscape
and pest control companies but turn
to setting up lights and decorations
for Christmas, Halloween and other
holidays in the colder months. That
switch typically enables the franchi-
sees to save 3,000 jobs.
Stephens said he is seeing a
big increase in interest in holiday
decorations from consumers. But
businesses are much more cau-
tious about committing to big
holiday displays.
“The challenge with our busi-
ness is we don’t know if we’re
screwed until the last couple of
weeks of the year,” he said.
Roughly 29 million Americans
are receiving state unemploy-
ment bene˜its but are no longer
drawing an extra USD600 a week
in federal jobless aid, which ex-
pired more than a month ago. The
Trump administration has set up
a programme to provide some of
the unemployed with USD300 a
week. But the new rules will make
many ineligible.
One consequence of the cri-
sis is that rising stress and anxiety
are evident at therapists’ of˜ices
and mental health hotlines around
the country.
“Not many days go by where
I don’t have a couple where one
partner or both are not working
or furloughed,” said Todd Creager,
a therapist in Southern California
who treats mostly middle- to up-
per-middle-class adults.
One-stop operator Vickie Gregorio with the Heartland Workforce Solutions
talks to a jobseeker outside the workforce of ice in Omaha. PHOTO: AP
SAO PAULO (XINHUA) - Vehicle
production in Brazil grew 23.6 per
cent in August compared to July,
but plummeted by 21.8 per cent
year-on-year, the National Asso-
ciation of Vehicle Manufacturers
(Anfavea) reported on Friday.
Anfavea President Luiz Car-
los Moraes said at a video con-
ference that 210,860 cars, light
commercial vehicles, trucks, and
buses were produced in August,
which marks the highest volume
since the start of the pandemic.
“We began to resume pro-
duction in August with all health
precautions for staff working in
factories and in the production
chain,” Moraes said.
In the ˜irst eight months of
the year, automakers manufac-
tured 1,110,777 units compared
to 2,011,055 units in the same
period of 2019, decreasing by
44.8 per cent, according to
local authorities.
“The global vehicle market
will be reduced from 91 million
units produced in 2019 to 75 mil-
lion in 2020, generating unprec-
edented idleness in the industry
worldwide,” Moraes added.
Vehicle production in
Brazil performs best in
August since pandemic
DETROIT (AP) — Hyundai has re-
versed itself on a recall to ˜ix a
defect that could cause engine
˜ires and is now telling owners of
more than 200,000 vehicles to
park them outdoors until repairs
are made.
The company, along with af-
˜iliated South Korean automaker
Kia, on Thursday said they were
recalling over 600,000 vehicles
in the United States (US) and
Canada to ˜ix a brake ˜luid leak
that could cause the ˜ires. Hyun-
dai initially said it was okay for its
vehicles to be parked indoors.
The recalls cover 203,000
Hyundai Santa Fe SUVs from 2013
to 2015. Also included are over
440,000 Kia Optima midsize se-
dans from 2013 through 2015
and Kia Sorento SUVs from 2014
and 2015.
Hyundai spokesman Michael
Stewart said the company’s North
America safety teammet on Friday
and decided that the Santa Fes
should not be parked in garages.
“After further review, it was
determined that out of an abun-
dance of caution, customers
should park the vehicles outside
until the recall is completed,”
Stewart said.
The recalls cover 203,000Hyun-
dai Santa FeSUVs from2013 to 2015.
Also included are over 440,000 Kia
Optima midsize sedans from 2013
through 2015 and Kia Sorento SUVs
from 2014 and 2015.
A message was left on Friday
seeking comment from Kia on
whether it also recommends the
vehicles be parked outside.
The automakers said in paper-
work released on Thursday by US
safety regulators that brake ˜luid
can leak inside a hydraulic control
unit for the anti-lock brakes, pos-
sibly causing an electrical short
that can lead to ˜ires.
Kia’s recall will start October
15, while Hyundai’s will start Oc-
tober 23. Dealers for both com-
panies will inspect the control
units for leaks and replace them
if needed at no cost to owners.
In company documents post-
ed Thursday by US safety regula-
tors, Hyundai said it had 15 reports
of engine ˜ires caused by the ˜luid
leaks, while Kia said it had eight.
Hyundai said it’s not aware of any
injuries, and Kia said it had none.
Hyundai now says recalled
vehicles should be parked outside
Combination of ile photos shows the logo of Kia Motors during an
unveiling ceremony in South Korea, and a Hyundai logo on the side of a
showroom in Colorado. PHOTO: AP