Small businesses are having a hard time hiring, despite high unemployment

Oct 9, 2020
Many furloughed workers are hoping to return to their old jobs.
A waitress folds silverware at a restaurant in Youngstown, Ohio, in September. Small businesses are having trouble hiring even though millions of Americans are out of work.
Megan Jelinger/AFP via Getty Images

Without more relief spending, the recovery's likely to stall

Oct 7, 2020
And that's likely to hurt families who are already stretched to the limit.
President Trump gives a thumbs up upon his return to the White House from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Oct. 05. The president said he was ending stimulus talks Tuesday, but later backtracked.
Win McNamee/Getty Images

What it means when airlines get special aid

Oct 7, 2020
On-again, off-again stimulus talks are impacting the entire economy, but airlines are usually a special case. Here's why.
Airline industry workers call for more federal aid in Federal Plaza in Chicago on Sept. 9.
Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images

Aid for state, local governments a sticking point in federal COVID-19 relief

Oct 6, 2020
Republicans and Democrats disagree about how much aid to give to state and local governments.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer talk in July. President Trump tweeted Tuesday stimulus talks with Congress are put on hold until after the election.
Brendan Smialowski-Pool/Getty Images

August's trade gap was the biggest in 14 years. That's probably good news

Oct 6, 2020
It's a sign that Americans have money to spend on consumer goods and businesses are importing parts for things they'll sell to consumers.
A container ship sits at the Port of Oakland in Northern California.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

President Trump calls off stimulus talks, stocks take a dive

Oct 6, 2020
The comments from the president came just hours after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell urged Congress to come through with more aid.
President Trump removes his face mask upon returning to the White House from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Oct. 05.
Win McNamee/Getty Images

Fed’s Powell: Lack of further stimulus imperils recovery

Oct 6, 2020
Powell said that government support has so far prevented a recessionary “downward spiral."
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is reflected in the sneeze guard set up between himself and members of the House Committee during a hearing in June.
Bill O'Leary/AFP via Getty Images

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COVID economy fallout keeps hitting already impoverished neighborhoods hardest

Oct 1, 2020
People are struggling as winter approaches, and local businesses are only sort of open.
People line up for food donations in May in the Bronx neighborhood of New York, where locals say the lines outside food pantries are like nothing they’ve ever witnessed before.
Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images

For furloughed workers, the psychological toll can be as heavy as the economic one

Oct 1, 2020
Add in the pandemic, the struggle for racial justice and the uncertainty surrounding the election, and the anxiety can be overwhelming.
Being furloughed, combined with the struggle for social justice and the uncertainty around the election and the pandemic, can be overwhelming.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Why do economists compare recessions to letters of the alphabet?

Sep 30, 2020
Is it a V-shaped recovery? Or a J, L, U, W or K?
What kind of economic recovery are we in, exactly?
Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images