Economy

The Washington Post reports: White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday that a briefing Biden is receiving later from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen would highlight “the cost of inaction” on the president’s coronavirus relief legislation — a move designed to increase pressure on Congress to move forward. The briefing, Psaki said, would demonstrate “the impact of a delay in …

The Associated Press reports: The number of people seeking unemployment aid soared last week to 965,000, the most since late August and a sign that the resurgent virus has likely escalated layoffs. The latest figures for jobless claims, issued Thursday by the Labor Department, remain at levels never seen until the virus struck. Before the pandemic, weekly applications typically numbered …

NBC News reports: The economy shed 140,000 jobs in December, a clear indication that the pandemic’s chokehold on economic activity strengthened in the final weeks of last year. The unemployment rate held steady at 6.7 percent. In the final jobs report of 2020, Friday’s monthly employment snapshot from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows a labor market teetering on the …

The Hill reports: Millions of people will lose federal unemployment benefits on Saturday as a result of the standoff between Congress and President Trump over the COVID-19 relief measure passed by the House and Senate this week. Fourteen million people will lose benefits through two programs set up under legislation earlier this year in the initial response to the coronavirus …

The Wall Street Journal reports: U.S. jobless claims fell to 803,000 last week, a retreat from a three-month high amid broader signs of a slowing economic recovery. The latest data came as states and local municipalities impose fresh restrictions on social and business activity to combat a surge in coronavirus cases. Other parts of the economy have shown signs of …

Bloomberg News reports: Applications for U.S. unemployment benefits surged last week and exceeded most estimates, suggesting that widening business shutdowns to curb the pandemic are spurring fresh job losses. Initial jobless claims in regular state programs rose by 137,000 to 853,000 in the week ended Dec. 5, Labor Department data showed Thursday. On an unadjusted basis, the figure increased by …

The Associated Press reports: President-elect Joe Biden is scheduled to deliver remarks Friday after the release of a November jobs report that showed the slowest month of growth by far since the recovery began. He then plans to meet virtually with a group of county leaders, whose agenda includes federal relief to help recover from the economic fallout of the …

MarketWatch reports: New applications for U.S. unemployment benefits fell in late November for the first time in three weeks, probably due in part to the Thanksgiving holiday. The number of people applying for benefits, however, is still quite high and the latest decline is unlikely to dispel fresh worries about rising layoffs and a slowdown in hiring after a record …

CBS News reports: President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris are meeting Monday with the heads of major companies and labor unions to discuss the incoming administration’s economic agenda, the Biden transition office said. The president-elect will deliver remarks on the economy following a remote briefing in Wilmington, Delaware, which comes as the stock market is surging on news …

The New York Daily News reports: New York City’s ailing taxicab industry may get a boost if a proposed bill gets a green light from the City Council. The legislation would require the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission to establish a “universal e-hail app” to let riders order from a single app any for-hire vehicle — including taxis and cars …

Axios reports: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Thursday that he would not put a potential $1.8 trillion+ deal struck by Democrats and the Trump administration on the Senate floor. “My members think half a trillion dollars, highly targeted is the best way to go,” he said. Why it matters: The economy and American workers need help. Democrats say …

CNBC reports: American workers continued to hit the unemployment line in large numbers last week, with 898,000 new claims filed for jobless benefits. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for 830,000. The total for the week ended Oct. 10 was the highest number since Aug. 22 and another sign that the labor market continues to struggle to get …

CNBC reports: The White House will take a $1.8 trillion coronavirus stimulus offer to Democrats as the sides work to strike a deal before the 2020 election, a source told CNBC. The plan would mark an increase from the $1.6 trillion the Trump administration previously proposed. House Democrats passed a $2.2 trillion bill earlier this month, and the sides have …

USA Today reports: President Donald Trump put an end to months of negotiations over a COVID-19 stimulus package Tuesday, rejecting the Democrats’ latest offer and saying he wanted to postpone negotiations until after the election. In a Tuesday afternoon tweet, Trump said Democrats were “not negotiating in good faith” and was rejecting their offer. Trump’s announcement comes as many of …

The New York Post reports: The US economy added 661,000 jobs in September as the American labor market’s rebound from the coronavirus pandemic hit yet another snag, new data show. Last month’s growth in non-farm payrolls helped push the unemployment rate down to 7.9 percent but marked a continued slowdown in hiring from August’s addition of about 1.5 million jobs, …

Yahoo Finance reports: Another 837,000 individuals filed new jobless claims last week, for a marginal step down from the upwardly revised 873,000 reported for the prior period. This marked the fifth straight week that new jobless claims come in below 1 million. On a seasonally unadjusted basis, claims also declined, falling by more than 40,000 to 786,942. But six months …

Yahoo Finance reports: Another 870,000 Americans filed for first-time unemployment benefits last week, unexpectedly rising slightly from the prior week to reaffirm a slowdown in the U.S. economic recovery. The U.S. Department of Labor released its weekly jobless claims report at 8:30 a.m. ET Thursday. At 870,000, Thursday’s figure represented the fourth consecutive week that new jobless claims came in …

ABC News reports: Some 860,000 Americans lost their jobs and filed for unemployment insurance last week, the Labor Department said Thursday. The latest tally shows that new jobless claims have dipped significantly since peaking at 6.9 million in the last week of March. Still, it shatters the pre-pandemic weekly record set in 1982 of 695,000. Meanwhile, more than 29.7 million …

The Wall Street Journal reports: U.S. debt has reached its highest level compared to the size of the economy since World War II and is projected to exceed it next year, the result of a giant fiscal response to the coronavirus pandemic. The Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday that federal debt held by the public is projected to reach or …

CNBC reports: The number of Americans who filed for unemployment benefits for the first time came in above 1 million for the 22nd time in 23 weeks as the economy struggles to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, the Labor Department said Thursday. It was the second-consecutive week that new claims was above 1 million. Initial claims were last below 1 …