Simon Ateba is Chief White House Correspondent for Today News Africa. Simon covers the U.S. government, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other financial and international institutions in Washington D.C. He can be reached on [email protected]
President Joseph R. Biden Jr.‘s economic plan is working, the White House said on Thursday, citing new unemployment claims, which have dropped below 400,000 for the first time since March 2020 from a pick of 800,000.
“When President Biden took office, over 800,000 new unemployment claims were being filed every week on average. While weekly data can be volatile, today, thanks to the President’s success in defeating the virus and getting economic relief to American workers and families, the four-week moving average for initial unemployment insurance claims declined yet again – and it is now below 400,000 for the first time since March 2020. This is further proof that President Biden’s economic plan is working,” the White House wrote.
On Thursday, the Conference Board’s leading economic indicators (LEI) index, a measure of current economic conditions, increased for the third consecutive month in May.
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“This data reaffirms the positive signs we’re seeing across the economy,” the White House said. “Yesterday, the Federal Reserve updated their projections to show the American economy growing in 2021 at 7% — the fastest rate since 1984 – and an increase from 5% in their projections for 2021 this time last year. The OECD and World Bank similarly have roughly doubled their projections for America’s economic growth in 2021 thanks to the policies put in place by this administration,” added the White House.
It noted that “while the data can be noisy and move around from week to week the trend is clear: economic growth is up, unemployment is down, and America is roaring back thanks to the President’s leadership.”
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