NEW YORK — A staggering 16.8 million Americans have been thrown onto the unemployment rolls in just three weeks, underscoring the terrifying speed with which the coronavirus outbreak has brought world economies to their knees. Meanwhile, world leaders and health officials fervently warned that the hard-won gains against the scourge...
US Sheds Most Jobs in a Decade, Ending Record Hiring Streak
WASHINGTON — A record-long streak of U.S. job growth ended suddenly in March after nearly a decade as employers slashed hundreds of thousands of jobs because of the viral outbreak that has all but shut down the U.S. economy. The unemployment rate jumped to 4.4% from a 50-year low of...
Despite Income Losses from Crisis, Most Not Worried About Their Finances.
WASHINGTON — About half of all working Americans report some kind of income loss affecting themselves or a member of their household due to the coronavirus pandemic, with low-income Americans and those without college degrees especially likely to have lost a job, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC...
A Record 10 Million Sought US Jobless Aid in Past 2 Weeks
WASHINGTON — More than 6.6 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week — doubling a record high set just one week earlier — a sign that layoffs are accelerating in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak. Combined with last week's report that 3.3 million people sought unemployment aid two...
California Swamped by Jobless Claims; LA Virus Cases Rise
LOS ANGELES — California hired retired state workers and transferred other employees to help process an avalanche of over 1 million unemployment claims amid a surge of job losses from the coronavirus pandemic, the state said Thursday. The announcement came as Los Angeles saw a 50% jump in newly confirmed...
3.3 Million Seek US Jobless Aid, Nearly 5 Times Earlier High
WASHINGTON — Nearly 3.3 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week — almost five times the previous record set in 1982 — amid a widespread economic shutdown caused by the coronavirus. The surge in weekly applications was a stunning reflection of the damage the viral outbreak is inflicting on...
Full Text of President Trump's 2020 State of the Union Address
The full text of President Donald Trump's State of the Union Address, as provided by the White House. on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2020: Madam Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, the First Lady of the United States, and my fellow citizens: Listen to this article: Three years ago, we launched...
California Unemployment Rate Held Steady at 3.9% in December
SACRAMENTO — California's unemployment rate held steady at the record low 3.9% in December, the state said Friday. California added 12,600 nonfarm payroll jobs during the month, the Employment Development Department said. Those gains extend California’s record job expansion to 118 months. The current expansion began in February 2010. The...
AP Fact Check: Distortion in Trump's Impeachment Defense
WASHINGTON — In his first formal response to impeachment charges, President Donald Trump misrepresented the testimony of a key witness who described an exchange of favors in the Ukraine matter. The claim marked a week of frequent exaggeration and distortion by the president heading into the opening statements of his impeachment trial. Just...
US Adds 145,000 Jobs; Unemployment Holds at 3.5%
WASHINGTON — U.S. employers added 145,000 jobs in December and the unemployment rate held steady at 3.5%, signaling that the job market remains strong at the start of 2020 even if hiring and wage gains have slowed somewhat more than a decade into an economic expansion. Friday’s snapshot from the...