September 7, 2020

Labor Day 2020

What a different holiday this is on the upswing from a devastating pandemic.

Today is Labor Day, and that means the unofficial end of summer on a day of celebration of the American worker. The holiday originated in the late 19th century and was borne of the labor movement, though many Americans, led by President Grover Cleveland, pushed for and secured a September date to distinguish it from the socialist/communist “International Workers Day,” or “May Day,” on May 1. Labor Day was made an official federal holiday in 1894.

As we mark the day, let’s take a look at employment in the wake of the disastrous coronavirus shutdown.

Far surpassing expectations, the August jobs report showed an economy that is recovering strongly. Employers added 1.4 million jobs last month, bringing the headline unemployment rate down to 8.4% from 10.2% in July and well below April’s high of 14.7%. And that decline came even as more people entered the workforce.

Unfortunately, we still have a long way to go to return to the pre-COVID 3.5% rate. “We have had three huge months of job gains, but so far have regained less than half of the losses in March and April,” said Dan North, senior economist at Euler Hermes North America. “Job gains so far have probably been the easy ones to get, where a business opened back up and brought back in its employees.”

And, according to The Daily Signal, “The number of permanent job losses increased by 534,000 to 3.4 million.”

It’s noteworthy that the additional $600 weekly unemployment benefit added by the CARES Act earlier this year expired at the end of July. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in August extending $300 per week in federal benefits and another $100 from participating states.

That benefit was generous, but it provided an incentive for some to remain unemployed. Noting that the pandemic has been “devastating for many Americans” but “a boon for others,” The Wall Street Journal reports on the latter group: “A majority of workers who lost their jobs but got the extra $600 a week earned more in unemployment for several months than they did at their jobs.”

It will be some time before we “return to normal” economically, and it’s likely that some things will be permanently altered. Nevertheless, things are looking up, and with that, a happy Labor Day to those Americans taking a one-day break from laboring today. And to those on an extended break not of their choosing, we say: Hang in there. Better days are ahead.


Update: Joe Biden blasted President Trump, saying, “Donald Trump may be the only president in modern history to leave office with fewer jobs than when he took office.” There is the small matter of pandemic, of course, and the shutdown prolonged by Democrat governors…

Who We Are

The Patriot Post is a highly acclaimed weekday digest of news analysis, policy and opinion written from the heartland — as opposed to the MSM’s ubiquitous Beltway echo chambers — for grassroots leaders nationwide. More

What We Offer

On the Web

We provide solid conservative perspective on the most important issues, including analysis, opinion columns, headline summaries, memes, cartoons and much more.

Via Email

Choose our full-length Digest or our quick-reading Snapshot for a summary of important news. We also offer Cartoons & Memes on Monday and Alexander’s column on Wednesday.

Our Mission

The Patriot Post is steadfast in our mission to extend the endowment of Liberty to the next generation by advocating for individual rights and responsibilities, supporting the restoration of constitutional limits on government and the judiciary, and promoting free enterprise, national defense and traditional American values. We are a rock-solid conservative touchstone for the expanding ranks of grassroots Americans Patriots from all walks of life. Our mission and operation budgets are not financed by any political or special interest groups, and to protect our editorial integrity, we accept no advertising. We are sustained solely by you. Please support The Patriot Fund today!


The Patriot Post and Patriot Foundation Trust, in keeping with our Military Mission of Service to our uniformed service members and veterans, are proud to support and promote the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, both the Honoring the Sacrifice and Warrior Freedom Service Dogs aiding wounded veterans, the National Veterans Entrepreneurship Program, the Folds of Honor outreach, and Officer Christian Fellowship, the Air University Foundation, and Naval War College Foundation, and the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. "Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:13)

★ PUBLIUS ★

“Our cause is noble; it is the cause of mankind!” —George Washington

Please join us in prayer for our nation — that righteous leaders would rise and prevail and we would be united as Americans. Pray also for the protection of our Military Patriots, Veterans, First Responders, and their families. Please lift up your Patriot team and our mission to support and defend our Republic's Founding Principle of Liberty, that the fires of freedom would be ignited in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

The Patriot Post is protected speech, as enumerated in the First Amendment and enforced by the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, in accordance with the endowed and unalienable Rights of All Mankind.

Copyright © 2024 The Patriot Post. All Rights Reserved.

The Patriot Post does not support Internet Explorer. We recommend installing the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome.