Economy

President-elect Joe Biden said Friday’s underwhelming jobs report foreshadows a “dark winter” that demands “urgent action” from President Donald Trump and Congress, as Covid spreads out of control across the U.S. and Americans face benefit cuts if Congress does not pass stimulus legislation. Biden, in a statement issued by his office, said the latest report

In the months since the U.S. labor market shed roughly 22.2 million jobs at the start of the coronavirus recession, some 10 million roles still have not recovered as the virus drags on and a host of stimulus policies intended to keep Americans housed, fed and able to meet essential needs expire in three weeks.

New jobless-claim filings last week reached their lowest level of the pandemic crisis, providing a sign that hiring is continuing if at a slower pace. First-time claims for unemployment benefits totaled 712,000 last week, compared with 787,000 a week earlier and the Dow Jones estimate of 780,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That marked a

A house for sale in Sarasota, Florida Scott Mlyn | CNBC  Thanksgiving week isn’t usually a popular time for homebuying, but most economic numbers this year are incomparable, especially in the pandemic-spiked housing market.  Mortgage applications to purchase a home jumped 9% last week from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally

Private payrolls grew at their slowest pace since July amid a deceleration in large business hiring for November, according to a report Wednesday from ADP. Companies hired 307,000 workers for the month, well below the 475,000 estimate from a Dow Jones survey of economists. The total represented a decline from the upwardly revised 404,000 in

People wait to visit a house for sale in Floral Park, Nassau County, New York. Wang Ying | Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images Strong, pandemic-induced demand for housing is still there, but buyers may now be hitting an affordability wall. Pending home sales fell 1.1% month-to-month in October but were 20.2% higher compared with

Erin Scott/Bloomberg via Getty Images The Department of Labor has been both miscounting the amount of people receiving unemployment benefits and underpaying those under a special program instituted to address the coronavirus pandemic, according to a government watchdog report Monday. Issues dealing with the surge in those filing claims for the new programs aimed at

In this Tuesday, July 17, 2012 photo, a single family home is offered for sale in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles. Average rates on fixed mortgages fell again this week to record lows, creating more incentive for buyers to enter the recovering housing market. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday, July 19, 2012, that

The pace of first-time filings for jobless claims picked up last week, with the jobs market showing increasing vulnerability to the coronavirus spread. Claims totaled 778,000 for the week ended Nov. 21, ahead of the 733,000 expectation from economists surveyed by Dow Jones and up from 742,000 the previous week. Continuing claims for those collecting

Sales of existing homes in October soared well past expectations, rising 4.3% compared with September and 26.6% annually to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 6.85 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors. The NAR’s chief economist, Lawrence Yun, called the annual increase “a spectacular gain.” The annualized sales rate is the highest

Volunteers from women’s organization Nuevo Amanecer Mujer Integral help with the distribution of frozen turkeys and food boxes ahead of Thanksgiving to families affected by the Covid-19 pandemic on November 18, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty Images JP Morgan economists now see an economic contraction in the first

The pace of workers filing for unemployment claims picked up last week and was a bit higher than Wall Street had been expecting. Jobless claims totaled 742,000 for the week, ahead of the 710,000 estimate from economists surveyed by Dow Jones, according to the Labor Department. That total also represented an acceleration from the previous

Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic said the central bank is prepared to step in with more policy help if needed to help businesses and people get through what could be some tough months ahead. Even with the prospects of at least two vaccines becoming available in the coming months, Bostic said there are multiple

First-time claims for unemployment insurance continued their decline last week, hitting another pandemic-era low in a sign that the labor market is gradually improving. The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims hit 709,000 for the week ended Nov. 7, down from 757,000 the week before. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Thursday he worries about women, children and business owners who face long-term consequences from the coronavirus pandemic. Asked to name his chief concerns as the world tries to recover from the Covid-19 crisis, Powell said it’s “the risk that there is some longer-run damage to the productive capacity of

A pedestrian wearing a protective face mask walks by a going out of business sign displayed outside a retail store in New York City. Noam Galai | Getty Images A Covid-19 vaccine will not result in an “instant stimulus” to the U.S. economy, which still needs greater fiscal support as its recovery loses momentum, an

A United States Postal Service (USPS) worker works in the rain in Manhattan during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in New York, April 13, 2020. Andrew Kelly | Reuters LONDON — The next six months will remain turbulent as the global economy keeps grappling with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, Eric Rosengren,

The Federal Reserve held short-term borrowing rates near zero in a decision Thursday that characterized the economy as growing but not near where it was before the coronavirus pandemic hit. As markets widely expected, the Fed kept its benchmark interest rate anchored in a range between 0%-0.25%, where it has been since an emergency cut