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...

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. 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released their May employment data on Friday, June 5, and there were some pleasant surprises. After March and April’s freefall, employers added a record 2.5 million jobs in May. The unemployment rate fell from 14.7 percent in April to 13.3 percent in May — though that is still a record high level.

I recently shared the ways in which declining tax revenue is taking a toll on state and local coffers, resulting in numerous job and budget cuts. Sales, gas, hotel, and other taxes and tolls have all decreased dramatically during the COVID-19-related shutdowns across the country.

On Tuesday morning, new data was released by the Census Bureau on housing starts in the U.S. And the picture is rather bleak. April privately-owned housing starts were at a seasonally adjusted rate of 891,000, which is a 30.2 percent drop from March of this year. It is also 29.7 percent below the April 2019 rate.

Earlier this week, I shared with you the detrimental financial impacts the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the healthcare sector. It is somewhat counterintuitive that hospitals that are overflowing with coronavirus patients would be losing money. As I explained, however, many healthcare organizations have had to sacrifice more lucrative...