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Bill Walker

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Golf Courses Rake in the Green Amid the Pandemic

Posted December 10, 2020 by Bill Walker

So many businesses have struggled to stay afloat during the pandemic, in part because of mandates on capacity or other restrictions aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19. But other industries have actually been thriving as a result of the pandemic. You might initially think about companies that make personal protective equipment,...

A Closer Look at Veteran-Owned Businesses

Posted November 19, 2020 by Bill Walker

According to the most recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Business Owners and Self-Employed Persons (SBO, 2012), 2.52 million businesses in the United States were majority-owned by veterans. Of this number, 442,485 veterans were employers, and 2.08 million were non-employers. In fact, 10.3 percent of all owners who...

Some Retail and Food Services Sales Gaining, Others Continue to Slump

Posted October 28, 2020 by Bill Walker

The U.S. Census Bureau recently released data on estimated retail and food services sales for the month of September. Estimated numbers are based on early reports from a small sampling of companies selected from the larger Monthly Retail Trade Survey (MRTS) sample. You can view the Advance Monthly Sales for Retail and Food Services,...

Latest Small Business Pulse Survey Shows Improvements

Posted October 22, 2020 by Bill Walker

Final results from phase two of the Census Bureau’s Small Business Pulse Survey were released last week, offering new first-hand perspectives on how the pandemic is impacting businesses. Participating businesses must be non-farm, single-location businesses and must have receipts greater than or equal to $1,000, and 500 employees or fewer.

How Supply Chains Have Been Affected by COVID-19

Posted October 06, 2020 by Bill Walker

In addition to millions of people becoming ill, the COVID-19 pandemic has had far-reaching consequences for our economy. We’ve seen millions of job losses. Businesses have watched their profits plummet, leading some to close permanently. The stock market has experienced dizzying volatility. A key contributor to the economic impacts has...

Jobless Claims Remain Steady, Though Elevated

Posted September 30, 2020 by Bill Walker

The latest jobs report from the Department of Labor (DOL) showed that for the week ending September 19, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 870,000. This marks an uptick of 4,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level (Sept. 12) was revised up by 6,000 from 860,000 to...

August Retail Sales: Are the Winners and Losers Starting to Plateau?

Posted September 24, 2020 by Bill Walker

The Census Bureau released the Advance Monthly Sales for Retail and Food Services, August 2020 report last week. Adjusted for seasonal variations, advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for August 2020 were $537.5 billion. That’s an increase of 0.6 percent from July and a 2.6 percent boost versus August of last year....

Service Sectors Struggle to Regain Past Quarters’ Revenue Levels

Posted September 17, 2020 by Bill Walker

The U.S. Census Bureau recently released the selected services estimates for the second quarter of 2020. The survey revealed that total revenue for the second quarter of 2020 (seasonally adjusted, but not adjusted for price changes) was $3,650.4 billion. That’s down 9.1 percent as compared to first quarter of 2020 and down 9.3 percent...

Jobs Numbers Improving…But Will the Trend Continue?

Posted September 10, 2020 by Bill Walker

We have to find glimmers of hope where we can lately, and the most recent jobs report is no exception. In August, the U.S economy added 1.4 million jobs — an impressive sounding figure — but the truth of the matter is that we are still at a deficit as compared to pre-COVID-19 numbers. 

July Construction Spending Offers Some Optimism, Some Stagnation

Posted September 03, 2020 by Bill Walker

Last week, we shared some positive news about residential construction in the U.S. For July, sales of new single-family houses topped 901,000, 13.9 percent above the revised June 2020 rate of 791,000. July’s numbers were also an impressive 36.3 percent above the July 2019 rate of 661,000 units sold. 

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