With 793,000 Americans applying for first-time unemployment benefits last week, the need for relief and a boost to the economy is apparent. Heather Boushey, a member of the Biden administration's Council of Economic Advisers, told Cheddar the number of new jobs added across the country has been on a steady decline.
"A couple weeks ago we got data for January's employment situation, and there we saw that the pace of job growth has slowed," she said.
The drastic sweep of job losses has been felt disproportionately by women, many of whom left the workforce to take on family care responsibilities full-time as schools and daycare centers closed in an effort to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
According to Boushey, prioritizing economic stimulus initiatives and circulating critical supplies is a surefire way to rejuvenate the economy and will ultimately help schools and daycare centers reopen safely — effectively allowing many women to get back into the labor force.
"The most important thing that we need to get people back to work, to get back to business as usual, is to contain the pandemic, and that's why the American Rescue Plan starts by adding resources for communities and states all across the country to contain the virus, to get those vaccines out, to make sure people have protective gear, to make sure that there's testing widely available, and then the package provides resources to help families, especially those who are out of work, weather this crisis," Boushey noted.
The big question Americans pose now is: when will relief come? Components of the COVID relief bill are being hashed out, particularly whether or not to include a boost to the federal minimum wage of $15. The House of Representatives approved the bill that included the minimum wage hike but Senate Democrats do not appear to be on the same page and might not have the votes to achieve the goal.
"Right now, Congress is working on the legislation. They're doing hearing markups and the extent to which they can move quickly and get their work done and get it to the president's desk to sign," Boushey said. "That is when we'll know when folks can get checks, but it can't happen until Congress acts."
A moon landing attempt by a private US company appears doomed because of a fuel leak on the newly launched spacecraft. Astrobotic Technology managed to orient the lander toward the sun Monday so its solar panel could capture sunlight and charge its onboard battery.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has announced that 100,000 businesses have signed up for a new database that collects ownership information intended to help unmask shell company owners. Yellen says the database will send the message that “the United States is not a haven for dirty money.”
A new version of the federal student aid application known as the FAFSA is available for the 2024-2025 school year, but only on a limited basis as the U.S. Department of Education works on a redesign meant to make it easier to apply.
A steep budget deficit caused by plummeting tax revenues and escalating school voucher costs will be in focus Monday as Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs and the Republican-controlled Arizona Legislature return for a new session at the state Capitol.
The first U.S. lunar lander in more than 50 years is on its way to the moon. The private lander from Astrobotic Technology blasted off Monday from Cape Canaveral, Florida, catching a ride on United Launch Alliance's brand new rocket Vulcan.
Global prices for food commodities like grain and vegetable oil fell last year from record highs in 2022, when Russia’s war in Ukraine, drought and other factors helped worsen hunger worldwide, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said Friday.
Wall Street is drifting higher after reports showed the job market remains solid, but key parts of the economy still don’t look like they’re overheating.
The Biden administration is docking more than $2 million in payments to student loan servicers that failed to send billing statements on time after the end of a pandemic payment freeze.
The nation’s employers added a robust 216,000 jobs last month, the latest sign that the American job market remains resilient even in the face of sharply higher interest rates.
A U.S. labor agency has accused SpaceX of unlawfully firing employees who penned an open letter critical of CEO Elon Musk and creating an impression that worker activities were under surveillance by the rocket ship company.
