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."
The social video platform's future remains in doubt, as players scramble to profit from the chaos. Plus: Big oil gets bigger, DOGE downsizes, and tariffs!
Ty Young, CEO of Ty J. Young Wealth Management, joins Cheddar to discuss Trump's moves as he returns to Washington D.C. and how it may affect the U.S. economy.
Starbucks’ decision to restrict its restrooms to paying customers has flushed out a wider problem: a patchwork of restroom use policies that varies by state and city. Starbucks announced last week a new code of conduct that says people need to make a purchase if they want to hang out or use the restroom. The coffee chain's policy change for bathroom privileges has left Americans confused and divided over who gets to go and when. The American Restroom Association, a public toilet advocacy group, was among the critics. Rules about restroom access in restaurants vary by state, city and county. The National Retail Federation says private businesses have a right to limit restroom use.
President Donald Trump is talking up a joint venture investing up to $500 billion for infrastructure tied to artificial intelligence by a new partnership formed by OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank. The new entity, Stargate, will start building out data centers and the electricity generation needed for the further development of the fast-evolving AI in Texas, according to the White House. The initial investment is expected to be $100 billion and could reach five times that sum. While Trump has seized on similar announcements to show that his presidency is boosting the economy, there were already expectations of a massive buildout of data centers and electricity plants needed for the development of AI.
Chris Ruder, Spikeball Founder and CEO, explains how he and his friends put roundnet on the global map, plus, how Spikeball helps people "find their circle."
J.W. Roth, CEO of Venu Holding Corporation, discusses the company's IPO and plans to redefine live music entertainment with their fan founded, fan-owned model.
