About 2.1 million of those new unemployment claims were filed just last week, the federal data show, marking a slight decrease from prior weeks while still reflecting the historic toll wrought by a pandemic that has temporarily – and in some cases permanently – shuttered businesses nationwide.

In recent weeks, many states have started lifting restrictions imposed in March meant to limit the spread of the coronavirus, which by Wednesday, had killed more than 100,000 across the country. But the recovery process has been uneven, hamstringing some states and employers more than others. In a number of states, a very large segment of the labor force is now collecting unemployment benefits. For example, 26.7% of the labor force in Nevada is collecting unemployment benefits, as are 25% in Florida. Even 20.6% of the labor force in California – the U.S.’s most populous state – is collecting jobless claims.

In the meantime, the widespread job losses have left workers in an increasingly perilous bind: Under pressure to return to the labor force — including from the White House — Americans have been left to vie for a fast-shrinking number of jobs assisting offices, entering data and handling other responsibilities that can be predominately executed from home.

There is a growing number of openings in warehouses as major retailers such as Amazon expand their footprints, according to a snapshot compiled by ZipRecruiter, a job-posting website. But some of the greatest demand is for harder-to-get, “safe” jobs requiring little to no face-to-face contact, including data entry, customer service and other human-resource tasks, said Julia Pollak, the company’s labor economist.

Three months ago, for example, 19 people on average might have applied for an open customer-service representative position on the site, ZipRecruiter found. By May, that average had tripled, even though there was a 40% drop in the number of those jobs listed online in the first place.

The scramble for remote, socially distant employment reflects lingering fears on the part of U.S. workers about their physical and financial security as the coronavirus pandemic stretches into its third month — and threatens to eclipse the availability of some federal aid programs.

“With six, seven, eight, maybe even 10 unemployed Americans per job opening,” Pollak said, “it’s a very competitive labor market.”

The tension looms over Washington as congressional lawmakers and the White House feud over their next response to the economic crisis wrought by the coronavirus. The latest hit came Wednesday, as Boeing, one of the largest U.S. manufacturers, said it was taking steps to lay off thousands of workers.

The pandemic has resulted in a national unemployment rate exceeding 14%, marking the highest rate since the Great Depression.

The historic rate of joblessness threatens the United States with an uncertain path toward economic recovery, the Federal Reserve affirmed in a report Wednesday, which highlighted precipitous drops in consumer spending, domestic tourism, manufacturing activity and agricultural conditions over the life of the pandemic.

President Donald Trump, for his part, has pledged in recent weeks that a swift rebound is on the horizon. It could take a few more months before a clearer picture of the labor market emerges.

Since March, Americans unexpectedly out of work have benefited from an additional $600-per-week in unemployment aid, a historic enhancement to jobless benefits authorized under the $2 trillion Cares Act. The money has proved critical in helping families pay their bills, maintain their mortgages and purchase groceries and other goods, experts say.

But the aid is set to expire at the end of July without further congressional action, which Trump and his GOP allies have opposed. The potential loss of that critical cash — leaving some Americans with much smaller unemployment checks — may send some workers scrambling this summer to try to find new gigs in a dour market. And then there could be even more competition for remote work that allows employees to stay home.

“For the vast major of people, those [unemployment] benefits don’t even replace half of your prior income,” said Heidi Shierholz, the senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute and former chief economist at the Department of Labor. “It will mean people will be definitely out looking for jobs,” she added, creating a crunch because “the number of job openings are greatly reduced by the coronavirus shock.”

Those who aspire to return to the workforce, seeking new positions amid a battered economy, are likely to find their options limited and less than ideal. Already, some economists said they had noticed a growing reluctance on the part of workers to apply for positions where face-to-face interaction is required — and working at home might be difficult or impossible.

A stock analyst at Krungsri Securities expected the index to rise to between 1,355 and 1,360 on hopes of economic recovery after countries across the globe began easing their coronavirus lockdowns and issuing economic stimulus measures.

“The European Union recently raised a fund of 750 billion euros to help its economy recover,” the analyst noted.

“In addition, the market was buoyed by the Thai Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s preparations for the third phase of lockdown easing, set to begin this week.”

However, the index would come under pressure from mass sell-offs of energy stocks and a tight SET valuation.

“The price of crude oil dropped amid uncertainty following the decline in demand due to the trade conflict between the US and China,” the analyst said.

The 10 stocks with the highest trade value today were BAM, BBL, KBANK, PTT, AOT, STA, SCB, CPALL, MINT and GULF.

As of 4.30pm, the price of crude oil dropped by US$0.30 or 0.91 per cent to $32.51 per barrel, while gold price rose by $10.60 or 0.61 per cent, to $1,737.40 per ounce.

European indices were on the rise, while US and Asian indices had a mixed day.

Japan’s Nikkei Index closed at 21,916.31, up 497.08 points, or 2.32 per cent.

China’s Shang Hai SE Composite Index closed at 2,846.22, up 9.42 points, or 0.33 per cent, while Shenzhen SE Component Index closed at 10,653.49, down 29.21 points, or 0.27 per cent.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed at 23,132.76, down 168.60 points, or 0.72 per cent.

South Korea’s KOSPI Index closed at 2,028.54, down 2.66 points, or 0.13 per cent.

Taiwan’s TAIEX Index closed at 10,944.19, down 70.47 points, or 0.64 per cent.

The council’s report on Thailand’s social situation and outlook for the first quarter showed that more than 8 million people face the risk of losing their job, owing to the spread of Covid-19.

Those facing unemployment can be divided into three groups:

1. Some 3.9 million workers in the tourism sector who have been affected by the drop in domestic and foreign tourist numbers;

2. Workers in the industrial sector, which was already hit hard by the US-China trade war and is further suffering from a drop in both domestic and foreign demand due to the pandemic. However, some industries, such as the producers of food and beverage or necessary items are still growing;

3. Some 4.4 million people working in fresh markets, sports stadiums or shopping malls, stand to lose their jobs due to lockdown measures.

Meanwhile, the drought crisis is expected to affect up to 6 million farmers and 370,000 seasonal workers – the highest in seven years.

However, NESDC believes the rate of unemployment this year will be in the range of 3 to 4 per cent or no more than 2 million people because the Covid-19 pandemic appears to be under control.

Also, the council said, the government has started easing control measures and allowing some economic activities to start again. The government has also come up with measures to help the economy recover by focusing on creating jobs, while the agriculture sector should also be able to provide some jobs despite the drought.

As of 9.30am, buying price of a gold bar was Bt25,700 per baht weight and selling price Bt25,900, while gold ornaments were priced at Bt25,241.40 and Bt26,400, respectively.

At close on Wednesday (May 27), buying price of a gold bar was Bt25,600 per baht weight and selling price Bt25,800, while gold ornaments were priced at Bt25,135.28 and Bt26,300, respectively.

The Gold Spot Index price on Thursday morning moved to around US$1,714 (Bt54,623) per ounce after the price dropped by $1.40 to $1,726.80 per ounce at close on Wednesday.

Investors were selling gold as safe haven asset after the Dow Jones Index rose for two consecutive days. Recently, the index rose over 25,000 points.

Meanwhile, the Hong Kong gold price rose by HK$20 to $15,820 (Bt65,024) per tael.

A stock analyst at Krungsri Securities expected the index to rise to between 1,355 and 1,360 on hopes of economic recovery after many countries eased lockdown and issued economic stimulus measures.

“Recently the European Union raised 750 billion euros to help the economy recover,” the analyst said.

“In addition, the market gained positive sentiment from the Thai Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s aim to announce the third phase of lockdown easing within this week.”

However, the index would be under pressure from mass sell-offs in energy stocks and the tight SET valuation.

“The price of crude oil dropped from uncertainty following the decline in oil demand due to the conflict between the US and China,” the analyst said.

He recommended investors to buy TMB, KKP, TISCO, AH, SAT, including:

● Stocks which will benefit from the government’s tourism stimulus measure, such as MINT, CENTEL, ERW, AOT, MAJOR and SPA.

● Stocks which have been added to the MSCI calculation – AWC, BAM and KTC.

● Stocks whose second quarter performance will improve, such as CKP, TASCO, STA, RS and EPG.

The Thai currency is expected to move between 31.80 and 32.00, Krungthai Bank’s money market strategist, Jitipol Puksamatanan, said.

On Wednesday night, the S&P 500 rose by 1.48 per cent to 3,036, while Euro Stoxx 50 rose by 1.7 per cent to 3,051, as investors turned to risk assets in response to the business sector resuming operations and hopes of new economic stimulus measures to help economic recovery.

The US Ten-Year Treasury yield was at 0.69 per cent, while the price of gold and Brent crude oil decreased slightly by 0.1 per cent and 5.9 per cent respectively.

The euro strengthened to US$1.10 against the euro, while the Japanese yen weakened to 108 against the dollar.

The baht in the short-term began to weaken similar to the Chinese yuan due to uncertainties in international politics and investors buying up dollars at the end of this month.

The baht is expected to weaken to Bt32.00 against the dollar due to mass sell-offs from exporters.

The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 553 points, or 2.2%, in a late-session spurt to close above 25,000 for the first time since March 10. Financial stocks and beaten-up industrials helped power the blue chips – a comeback that signals confidence in the recovery — to a close of 25,548.27. Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and American Express all had big days.

This comes on top of Tuesday’s 530-point gain and leaves the Dow about 14% shy of the all-time high it set in February. It’s now off 10% for the year.

“The stock market is like a party animal looking for a reason to celebrate,” Kristina Hooper, chief global market strategist at Invesco, said in an email. “It has yet another reason to celebrate today, however tenuous, as it looks like the White House might be open to more fiscal stimulus. However, there are significant downside risks to this frothy stock market, particularly the possibility for a rise in US-China tensions.”

The Standard & Poor’s 500 advanced more than 1.5% to close above 3,000 points for the first time since March 5. At 3,036.13, the index is now 10% off its all-time high and down 6% for 2020. All 11 S&P sectors were positive, led by financials and industrials. The S&P technology sector was down most of the day but notched a slim gain at the close.

The Nasdaq came from beyond — it was down more than 1% at one point — to post a 0.8% advance and settle at 9,412.36. The Nasdaq is off 4% from its all-time high and is up 5% for 2020.

“People are rotating out of companies that were benefiting from the pandemic and lockdown and into companies that will benefit from the recovery,” said Ivan Feinseth of Tigress Financial Partners.

Shares in hotels, cruise lines and airlines, which have been thrashed during the pandemic, posted healthy gains Wednesday as investors anticipate a revival in tourism and hospitality as states reopen continue to reopen their economies.

“This is all about the reopening and about growing hopes of a vaccine,” said David Rosenberg of Rosenberg Research. “If you are bullish on that narrative, then you rotate to the sectors that have been the bottom feeders like banks, airlines, hotels.”

The financial industry delivered more good news with a report Wednesday that mortgage applications for new homes rose 9%, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

European indexes were up more than 1% across the board, with Britain’s bank stocks pushing nearly forward 4% on the day.

Oil prices cooled, with major benchmarks dropping around 4% Wednesday, snapping a steady rise during May.

The race to develop a covid-19 vaccine and other treatments has buoyed investors in recent weeks. Merck announced Tuesday that it was teaming up with another company to develop a coronavirus vaccine, as well as new treatments. Last week, Maryland-based Novavax reported that it entered human study for a coronavirus vaccine while Massachusetts-based Moderna announced that a small, early trial for its own candidate yielded positive results. Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and others also are trying to develop a vaccine for use as early as this year.

The pandemic has hobbled the U.S. economy as business and social activity came to a hard stop. Jobless claims surged toward 40 million last week. The unemployment rate spiked to 14.7% in April and is projected to go even higher May.

The department has reportedly attributed this decline to the Covid-19 fallout, which is forcing investors to wait until the situation improves.

The top three newly registered businesses in April were construction, property and management consultation.

Meanwhile, April also saw 817 companies dissolved, down 14 per cent from March and 17 per cent from the same period last year. The top three dissolved businesses were construction, real estate and restaurants.

Between January and April, 23,411 new companies were registered, with a total capital of Bt80.142 billion, down 12 per cent from the same period last year, while the number of dissolved companies was 3,986 with a total capital of Bt18.24 billion, down 7 per cent.

A stock analyst at Krungsri Securities expects the index to rise to 1,345 points over hope for an economic recovery after several countries have been easing lockdown measures.

The price of crude oil also rose after several countries launched stimulus measures to deal with the Covid-19 impact.

“Investors expect the government to announce a third phase of easing restrictions by the end of this week,” the analyst said.

However, he added, the index will come under pressure from tension between US and China in relation to the mainland enforcing a new national security law in Hong Kong as well as a tight SET valuation.

The top 10 stocks with the highest trade value today were AOT, CPF, STA, MINT, KBANK, CBG, BAM, TRUE, CPALL and SCB.

As of 4.30pm, the price of crude oil dropped by US$0.25 or 0.73 per cent to $34.10 per barrel, while gold dropped by $9.90 or 0.58 per cent, to $1,695.70 per ounce.

The US indices were on the rise, while European and Asian indices had a mixed day:

Japan’s Nikkei Index closed at 21,419.23, up 148.06 points, or 0.70 per cent.

China’s Shanghai SE Composite Index closed at 2,836.80, down 9.74 points, or 0.34 per cent, while Shenzhen SE Component Index closed at 10,682.70, down 132.73 points, or 1.23 per cent.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed at 23,301.36, down 83.30 points, or 0.36 per cent.

South Korea’s KOSPI Index closed at 2,031.20, up 1.42 points, or 0.070 per cent.

Taiwan’s TAIEX Index closed at 11,014.66, up 17.45 points, or 0.16 per cent.

In morning trade at the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), the price of TMB shares rose by 3.74 per cent or Bt0.04 to Bt1.11 per share; Bangkok Bank (BBL) rose by 2.54 per cent or Bt2.50 to Bt101, Kiatnakin Bank (KKP) rose by 2.42 per cent or Bt1 to Bt42.25, and Bank of Ayudhya (BAY) rose by 2.31 per cent or Bt0.50 to Bt22.10.

Nuttachart said investors have started buying stocks in banks because the price has dropped by 37 per cent, followed by property stocks, which have dropped by 19 per cent.

“We advise investors to buy bank stocks because the price is cheap and its price-to-book-value ratio is 0.45 times,” he said.

He specifically recommended investors to buy BBL stocks as the company can reserve debt of up to 200 per cent and most of its customers are large companies.

“Many companies are borrowing from banks as they are finding it difficult to raise funds in the bond market,” he added. “We expect BBL stocks in the next 12 months to rise to Bt158 per share.”