Tag Archives: economy

Bloomberg News reports: The U.S. labor market got back on track last month with a larger-than-forecast payrolls gain, indicating greater progress filling millions of vacancies as the effects of the delta variant faded. Nonfarm payrolls increased 531,000 last month after an upwardly revised 312,000 gain in September, a Labor Department report showed Friday. The unemployment rate fell to 4.6% while …

ABC News reports: Wages jumped in the three months ending in September by the most on records dating back 20 years, a stark illustration of the growing ability of workers to demand higher pay from companies that are desperate to fill a near-record number of available jobs. Pay increased 1.5% in the third quarter, the Labor Department said Friday. That’s …

Yahoo Finance reports: U.S. holiday sales could rise over 10% this year, a trade body said on Wednesday, as major consumer goods makers and retailers work to prevent supply chain disruptions from leaving shelves empty of in-demand toys and games. The National Retail Federation (NRF) forecast sales to increase between 8.5% and 10.5%, to between $843.4 billion and $859 billion, …

Bloomberg News reports: Applications for U.S. state unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest since March 2020, showing employers are hanging onto their workers in a tight labor market. Initial unemployment claims in regular state programs totaled 293,000 in the week ended Oct. 9, a decrease of 36,000 from the prior week, Labor Department data showed Thursday. The median …

Yahoo News reports: Initial unemployment claims fell further last week to the lowest level since March 2020, bringing the level of weekly new filings closer to pre-virus levels. New weekly jobless claims posted a fourth straight weekly decline, coming in yet again below the psychologically important 400,000 level. But even with the drop, new weekly claims are still elevated compared …

CNBC reports: Initial jobless claims declined for the third consecutive week as the U.S. labor market continued its recovery from last year’s recession. New claims for jobless benefits totaled 375,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday, matching estimates from economists surveyed by Dow Jones. The reading for the previous week was revised upward by 2,000 to 387,000 claims. The …

The New York Times reports: The American economy roared into midsummer with a strong gain in hiring, but there are questions about its ability to maintain that momentum as the Delta variant of the coronavirus causes growing concern. Employers added 943,000 jobs in July, the Labor Department reported Friday, but the data was collected in the first half of the …

Bloomberg News reports: It was the whopping-yet-still-disappointing 6.5% annualized growth number for the second quarter that got most of the attention when the U.S. gross domestic product report came out Thursday. But the data release from the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis also included revisions to GDP and related measures back to 1999, making this an opportune time to …

The New York Times reports: Vaccinations and federal aid helped lift the U.S. economy out of its pandemic-induced hole this spring. The next test will be whether that momentum can continue as coronavirus cases rise, masks return and government help wanes. Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic output, grew 1.6 percent in the second quarter of the year, …

Bloomberg News reports: U.S. job growth accelerated in May and the unemployment rate fell, signaling firms are making progress filling a record number of openings as the economy powers up. Payrolls increased by 559,000 last month after a revised 278,000 gain in April, according to a Labor Department report Friday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists was …

Bloomberg News reports: Applications for U.S. state unemployment insurance fell to a fresh pandemic low last week as business confidence strengthens and employers seek to fill more positions left open by restrictions. Initial claims in regular state programs declined by 34,000 to 473,000 in the week ended May 8, Labor Department data showed Thursday. The labor market continues to improve …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Consumers are splurging on cars and furniture—and facing extended waits for delivery. Restaurants and gyms are reopening—and struggling to find workers. Factories and home builders are trying to ramp up—but are short on semiconductors or raw materials. The Covid-19 outbreak paralyzed both supply and demand last spring. This spring, vaccinations and government stimulus have created …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Household income rose at a record pace of 21.1% in March as federal-stimulus checks helped fuel an economic revival that is poised to endure with an easing pandemic. The surge in income last month was the largest monthly increase for government records tracing back to 1959, reflecting $1,400 stimulus checks and other government aid included …

The Wall Street Journal reports: The U.S. economy expanded rapidly in the first quarter, growing at a 6.4% annual rate and extending what economists project will be a robust, consumer-led recovery from the pandemic this year. The jump in U.S. gross domestic product in the first three months of the year, reported by the Commerce Department on Thursday, put the …

NBC News reports: The U.S. economy added 916,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate fell to 6 percent, in the strongest indication yet that the labor market is finally working its way back to pre-pandemic norms as the number of vaccinations continues to rise. The hiring and employment data, released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, firmly beat …

The Hill reports: The unemployment rate could drop to 4.1 percent or even lower this year, according to a Goldman Sachs forecast released late Sunday night. Ultimately, the bank forecasts that unemployment will drop to 3.2 percent by 2024. If that were to happen, it would surpass the 50-year record set in the Trump administration, notching a significant win for …

CNBC reports: The House passed its $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill early Saturday, sending the massive proposal to the Senate as Democrats rush to approve more aid before unemployment programs expire. It is the first major legislative initiative for President Joe Biden. The House approved it in a 219-212 mostly party line vote, as two Democrats joined all Republicans in …

CNN reports: A federal judge in Texas on Thursday ruled that the federal moratorium on evictions is unconstitutional, according to court documents. US District Judge John Barker, who was appointed by then-President Donald Trump to the court in the Eastern District of Texas, stopped short of issuing a preliminary injunction, but said he expected the US Centers for Disease Control …

The New York Times reports: President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. will propose a $1.9 trillion rescue package to combat the economic downturn and the Covid-19 crisis, outlining on Thursday evening the type of sweeping aid that Democrats have demanded for months. The sprawling package includes more than $400 billion to combat the pandemic directly, including accelerating vaccine deployment and safely …

Bloomberg News reports: Applications for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly jumped to the highest level in three months, suggesting the labor market’s recovery is faltering amid the surge in Covid-19 cases and widening business closures. Initial jobless claims in regular state programs rose by 23,000 to 885,000 in the week ended Dec. 12, Labor Department data showed Thursday. On an unadjusted …