U.S. layoffs stay high as weak demand lingers despite businesses reopening – ZAWYA

U.S. layoffs stay high as weak demand lingers despite businesses reopening – ZAWYA

U.S. layoffs stay high as weak demand lingers despite businesses reopening U.S. layoffs stay high as weak demand lingers despite businesses reopening | ZAWYA MENA Edition HomeEconomyGlobalArticleU.S. layoffs stay high as weak demand lingers despite businesses reopening Companies are hiring, but others are cutting jobs at nearly the same pace    WASHINGTON - Weak demand is forcing U.S. employers to lay off workers, keeping new applications for unemployment benefits extraordinarily high, even as businesses have reopened, buttressing views the labor market could take years to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.Initial claims for state unemployment benefits totaled a seasonally adjusted 1.480 million for the week ended June 20, down from 1.540 million in the prior week, the Labor Department said on Thursday.The weekly jobless claims report, the most timely data on the economy's health, also showed millions continue to collect unemployment checks more than a month after many businesses resumed operating following closures in mid-March in an effort slow the spread of the respiratory illness.Initial claims for state unemployment benefits totaled a seasonally adjusted 1.480 million for the week ended June 20, down from 1.540 million in the prior week, the Labor Department said on Thursday.WASHINGTON - Weak demand is forcing