Will Trump’s Illness Slow the Economy’s Rebound?

Will President Trump’s Covid-19 illness help economic growth by breaking the logjam in Congress over stimulus? Or will it hurt the economy by increasing fears of the virus and slowing the reopening? Forecasters are split, saying the outcome partly depends on how bad Trump’s case is.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Oct. 2 that the U.S. added 661,000 jobs in September. That’s an historically strong number but down from the blistering increases of 4.8 million jobs in June, 1.8 million in July, and 1.5 million in August. To date the U.S. has clawed back about half of the jobs lost from the spring shutdown of the economy. Regaining the rest of them will take longer and will depend on how quickly governments and businesses reopen, which in turn will be affected by the course of the pandemic.