May 20 U.S. jobless claims decline to 444,000, a new pandemic low By Christopher Rugaber, Associated Press The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid fell last week to 444,000, a new pandemic low and a sign that the job market keeps strengthening as consumers spend freely again, viral infections drop and business restrictions ease. Continue reading
Mar 14 Watch 7:05 Extra space, flexibility, luck: For restaurants that survived the pandemic, it could take all three By Christopher Booker, Sam Weber Pre-pandemic, 10% of Connecticut's workforce was in restaurants. Since COVID-19 at least 600 of the state’s restaurants have closed and tens of thousands remain unemployed. For those still open, the road ahead is still uncertain. In our “Roads to Recovery”… Continue watching
Feb 13 Draghi takes helm in Italy, focused on pandemic recovery aid By Frances D'Emilio, Associated Press Draghi and his 23 Cabinet ministers took their oaths of office at the Quirinal presidential palace. Italian President Sergio Mattarella had tasked the former European Central Bank president with trying to form a government up to managing the the health,… Continue reading
Aug 04 Watch 5:52 After years of slow recovery, U.S. economy boasts solid gains By PBS News Hour July was the second straight month of solid gains for U.S. employers, who added 209,000 jobs, according to the Labor Department. Mark Vitner of Wells Fargo joins Judy Woodruff to discuss what it means for the job market, the stock… Continue watching
Jun 06 Watch 7:47 A resurgence for the ‘Mother Road’: revitalizing Route 66 By PBS News Hour U.S. Route 66, running 2,400 miles from Chicago to Santa Monica, was once one of the most-traveled highways in the nation; John Steinbeck referred to it as the “Mother Road.” But the rise of the Interstate Highway System led to… Continue watching
Jan 08 Wolfers on today’s unemployment numbers: ‘yabba dabba doo!’ By Kristen Doerer The U.S. economy added 292,000 jobs in December, and unemployment remained unchanged at 5.0 percent. December’s jobs report was nothing short of stellar. Continue reading
Jun 05 Watch 3:16 Unemployment rate goes up for all the right reasons By PBS News Hour The May jobs report was surprisingly strong. Employers added 280,000 jobs, marking a rebound from the year's first quarter and stemming fears of an economic cool down. Judy Woodruff learns more from Diane Swonk of Mesirow Financial. Continue watching
May 08 April job growth blooms after harsh March By Making Sen$e Editor A bleak March labor report gave way to a brighter April, adding 223,000 jobs and dropping unemployment to a seven-year low. Continue reading
Dec 17 Why the middle class is not feeling a recovery By Simone Pathe The wealth gap between upper-income Americans and the rest of the country has reached a new high. According to a Pew Research Center analysis, the gap actually widened during the recovery as only upper-income families recouped some of the wealth… Continue reading
Aug 01 Another 200K jobs for ‘The Little Engine That Could’ By Simone Pathe July marks the sixth straight month of job gains exceeding 200,000 -- a growth record not seen since 1997. But there's still not enough turnover in the labor market, the Brookings Institution's Justin Wolfers and MIT's Peter Diamond say, to… Continue reading