Pandemic could cause twice as much homelessness as the Great Recession

Jan 14, 2021
COVID-related unemployment could cause about 600,000 people to become homeless over the next three years, according to a report from the Economic Roundtable.
Squares painted on the ground encourage homeless people to social distance at a city-sanctioned encampment in San Francisco.
Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images

How much unemployment is there? Depends on your wage bracket.

Jan 14, 2021
Industries like hospitality, which tend to be low wage and employ more Black and Latinx workers, have been particularly hard hit by the pandemic.
People wait at a food-distribution site in New York City. Food insecurity is a painful effect of the "K-shaped recovery."
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Amid persistent economic doldrums and widespread uncertainty, few companies entered 2021 with expansion in mind.
Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

Long-term unemployment rose slightly in December

Jan 8, 2021
But it doesn't account for those who've stopped looking for work.
The view from an empty, closed restaurant in New York City early in the pandemic. The long-term unemployed have become a large proportion of the overall jobless population.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Hiring in a pandemic requires a different calculus

Jan 8, 2021
Small business owners are getting burned out making hiring and firing decisions while cash flow is weak and uncertainty reigns.
An employee stocks merchandise at a store in Glendale, California. Many businesses have reduced staffing as the pandemic reduced cash flow.
David McNew/Getty Images

Will January bring more hiring?

Jan 8, 2021
The latest COVID relief package will have a positive effect on the economy as soon as this month.
A waiter at the outdoor dining area of a restaurant in New York last year.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

U.S. loses 140,000 jobs, first monthly loss since spring

Jan 8, 2021
The figures suggest employers have rehired roughly all the workers they can afford to after laying off more than 22 million.
The unemployment rate stayed at 6.7%, the first time it hasn’t fallen since April.
Mark Makela/Getty Images

Airlines get relief funds, but travel rebound may take a while

Dec 29, 2020
The measure includes money that will allow the airline industry to bring back furloughed workers through March.
A pilot walks through New York's LaGuardia Airport on Dec. 3.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Trump's relief delay causes unemployment confusion

Dec 28, 2020
Two pandemic programs briefly expired. It could have meant billions in lost relief for one week — but it didn't.
President Donald Trump has signed the COVID-19 relief bill after refusing to do so for several days. Above, the president and first lady Melania Trump depart the White House for Mar-a-Lago last week.
Samuel Corum/AFP via Getty Images