While first-time unemployment claims fell 60,000 last week to 1.48 million, they’re barely down from 1.54 million two weeks ago and 1.57 million three weeks ago. Prior to Covid-19, the record high was 695,000! Contemporaneously, the number of unemployed fell by 767,000 to 19.6 million. First-time claims are inching down but hiring isn’t rising fast enough. Worse, Covid-19 cases are rising, slowing growth and hiring, and further weakening the recovery.