CLEVELAND — President Joe Biden will make his second trip to Ohio next week since taking over the Oval Office.
The White House said he’ll be in town discussing the economy on May 27, but details including the location and time of the event are unknown. Biden made another trip to Columbus in March to tout the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan.
Earlier this month, Biden said the country is on the path to economic recovery following a rise in the U.S. unemployment rate.
“When we came into office, we knew we were facing a once-in-a-century pandemic and a once-in-a-generation economic crisis,” Biden said on May 7. “We knew this would not be a sprint, it would be a marathon. Quite frankly, we are moving more rapidly than I thought we would.”
In April, the unemployment rate rose slightly from 6% to 6.1%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ most recent jobs report. Around 266,000 jobs were added in April, which is a decrease from previous months — 916,000 in March and 468,000 in February.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported 473,000 unemployment claims were filed the week of May 13, a record low during the pandemic. That’s 34,000 less than the revised 507,000 reported a week earlier.
The economy expanded at a 6.4% annual rate in the first three months of the year, according to Bureau of Economic Analysis. It’s expected to continue to grow at the fastest pace since 1984.
