Last month the U.S. added 379,000 jobs, a sign that the economy is trending toward recovery. Of the jobs added last month, 355,000 positions were added in the hospitality and leisure sector, an industry that was one of the hardest hit during the pandemic.
While February was the second straight month of beating job growth expectations, the White House says the country is "far from out of the woods," in terms of job recovery.
"The job market is still 9.5 million jobs down from where it was a year ago. By the way, that's 800,000 jobs worse than the depth of the Great Recession, so we are just awfully far from out of the woods," Jared Berstein, a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, told Cheddar.
Furthermore, Black and Latino Americans are facing stagnation or even a rise in joblessness. The new report shows the rate of unemployment for Black Americans actually went up 0.7 percent last month while the jobless rate for Latinos fell only 0.1 percent to 8.5 percent.
"We have four million people stuck in long-term unemployment," Bernstein added.
While job growth for the country as a whole is improving, Bernstein said dissecting the job reports is key to understanding the entire story. As Americans wait on the Senate to debate over the most recent version of the American Rescue Plan, the White House has said parts of the plan directly address communities of color where joblessness has been rampant and others have had to work riskier, essential jobs through the pandemic.
"Now for those on the bottom leg of the K of this disparate K-shape recovery, unemployment insurance has been important," said Bernstein noting enhanced unemployment benefits are about to expire disproportionately affecting communities of color. "The American Rescue plan keeps them going."
April's release of the monthly Housing Starts and Building Permits reports by the Census Bureau provides crucial insights into the construction activity in the housing market. These reports are an economic indicator, shedding light on the current state of the housing market and its broader economic impact.
Caitlin Clark is heading to the Indiana Fever, the number one draft pick and the highest-scoring college basketball player of all time. And while she may not be getting millions from the WNBA, there's a few ways she'll net compensation for her generational talents.
Author of 'Clean Meat,' Paul Shapiro joins Cheddar to discuss how the cellular agricultural revolution helps lower rates of foodborne illness and greatly improves environmental sustainability. Plus, how his company The Better Meat Co. is bringing healthier food options to the table.
Recent headlines might make it sound like World War III is imminent, but when it comes to your finances, it's not the time to panic. The market is coming off its longest winning streak since 2011.
You may have noticed fewer new venture capital-backed startups (like Airbnb or Uber) lately. The market slowed to a crawl after 2021, but things are expected to take off again in 2025.
Corporate earnings season is underway, that time when companies share their billions in sales or double-digit profits. But the data shows even companies are struggling with high inflation and interest rates.
Boeing continues their terrifying trend of having their planes fall apart mid-flight, inflation — checks notes — is still up and the future of AI looks terrifying. Cheery!
Food waste – uneaten scraps or leftovers sent to landfills – is responsible for 10% of global emissions. Mill, a new product from the co-founder of Nest, thinks technology can play a role in eliminating it.
By the time the 2024 election is over, be prepared to see some form of a recession – but this shouldn’t be as bad as what we experienced in 2020 or 2008.
