Apr 30 Watch 5:08 Michelle Singletary answers viewer questions about pandemic finances As Americans endure an unprecedented economic situation, they are confronting new challenges and worries about many aspects of their lives. In this week’s Ask Us, we focus on concerns about jobs and money. Michelle Singletary, The Washington Post’s finance columnist,… Continue watching
Apr 29 Unemployment surge pushing state funds toward insolvency By David A. Lieb, Associated Press A surge in unemployment caused by the coronavirus shutdown has started to take a financial toll on state jobless funds. At least six states already have asked to borrow money from the federal government to pay unemployment claims because their… Continue reading
Apr 28 Watch 9:47 Why is it so difficult for small businesses to get federal pandemic aid? Demand remains high for relief the federal Paycheck Protection Program is making available for smaller businesses. But the distribution of that money continues to be a source of controversy, and the program has been mired with technical problems. Lisa Desjardins… Continue watching
Apr 23 Watch 3:32 They were hit hard by the last recession. Now it’s happening again By Lorna Baldwin, Maea Lenei Buhre The U.S. suffered a big financial hit during the Great Recession of 2008-2009. As the novel coronavirus pandemic yields another economic collapse, many of those people are losing jobs, businesses and investments again. Here are stories from four people who… Continue watching
Apr 23 Watch 6:34 Why the pandemic is making U.S. economic inequality even worse By Paul Solman A new survey by the Pew Research Center finds 43 percent of U.S. adults say they or someone in their household has suffered a job loss or pay cut due to COVID-19. With such widespread impact, it will likely take… Continue watching
Apr 23 Gig workers and self-employed keep waiting for jobless aid By Christopher Rugaber, Associated Press Economists say the layoffs could send the unemployment rate as high as 20%, which would be the worst level since the Great Depression. But there are many more filings for jobless aid to come, including millions of independent contractors, gig… Continue reading
Apr 23 Virus pushes U.S. unemployment toward highest since Depression By David Crary, Kathy Gannon, Angela Charlton, Associated Press Unemployment in the U.S. is swelling to levels last seen during the Great Depression, with 1 in 6 American workers thrown out of work by the coronavirus. Continue reading
Apr 23 26 million have sought unemployment benefits since virus hit By Christopher Rugaber, Associated Press More than 4.4 million laid-off workers applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week as job cuts escalated across an economy that remains all but shut down, the government said Thursday. Continue reading
Apr 20 Florida slowest state in U.S. to process unemployment claims By Bobby Caina Calvan, Associated Press Nearly 7 of every 8 Floridians who managed to file claims during the three weeks from mid-March until early April were waiting to have them processed. Continue reading
Apr 19 Watch 4:55 Decades-old unemployment systems can’t handle record demand By Christopher Booker More than 22 million people have filed for unemployment benefits in recent weeks due to the novel coronavirus. And those record numbers are taxing decades-old unemployment systems in states across the U.S., many which use a legacy programming language called… Continue watching