Jobless claims are upbeat, but consumer confidence is still a wild card

Sep 2, 2021
The delta variant is causing some consumer pullback, and the expiration of pandemic unemployment benefits on Sept. 5 could play a role in spending.
Consumer spending accounts for 70% of the economy.
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Fewer people are on unemployment, but there's a nasty shock coming for many of them

Aug 19, 2021
Their federal benefits — which add up to more than $6 billion a week — are about to run out.
Emergency federal unemployment benefits — equivalent to roughly $6 billion per week — are set to expire in two and a half weeks.
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Uneven state unemployment rates show different recovery arcs

Jul 8, 2021
Many of the states with the lowest unemployment rates have young workforces and multifaceted economies.
Idle Union Pacific engines sit in rows at a train yard in Salt Lake City in June 2020. Utah was one of the few states that didn't have to lock down as much as other states during the pandemic.
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What's keeping labor force participation down?

Jun 4, 2021
It's not just child care and health issues. Many people are looking at their old jobs and saying no thanks.
The job market has changed, as well as workers' situations. For people who used to be bus drivers, for instance, there may not be jobs to go back to.
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Nearly half of states will cut short federal jobless benefits

May 27, 2021
The economy is steadily improving, but we're not back to "normal."
Conservatives have argued that enhanced unemployment benefits were meant to buffer workers from the worst of the pandemic, which has now passed.
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New data points to strengthening economic recovery this year

Apr 15, 2021
Jobless claims and retail spending data out Thursday suggest that the economy's laying the groundwork for recovery.
This March, spending at restaurants rose by more than spending at grocery stores, a positive sign for economic recovery.
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Weekly jobless claims are up, but other signs point to a recovering job market

Apr 1, 2021
The larger trend in jobless claims is down, while airline reservations and manufacturing work shifts are up.
Labor market indicators such as job postings and manufacturing work shifts have been improving.
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Big jump in unemployment benefit claims from gig workers

Jan 21, 2021
More people are relying on gig work, which puts a lot of risk on the workers themselves.
An Uber driver participates in a car rally calling for basic employment rights in August 2020 in Los Angeles.
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Jobs have bounced back in some parts of the economy. Others face a long slog.

Nov 6, 2020
More Americans are returning to the labor market. But more are also joing the ranks of the long-term unemployed.
A shuttered business district in Brooklyn in May. Jobs in some face-to-face services, like bars and restaurants, are still down 15% to 30%.
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Continuing unemployment claims are down, but that doesn't tell the whole story

Nov 5, 2020
No state lets people stay on unemployment benefits for more than 26 weeks.
Unemployment benefits are running out for people who have been out of work for six months.
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