Category Archives: Business

Retail spending rose nearly 10 percent in March as relief payments hit bank accounts.

Retail sales surged in March, the Commerce Department said on Thursday, as Americans spent their latest round of government stimulus checks and the continued roll out of coronavirus vaccines lured more people back into stores. The 9.8 percent increase last month was a strong comeback from the nearly 3 percent drop in February, when previous […]

Retail Sales Jump and Jobless Claims Drop in New Signs of Recovery: Live Updates

Here’s what you need to know: Shoppers in New York City on Tuesday. Retail sales surged last month, and the latest jobless claims report also provided fresh signs of economic revival.Credit…Gabby Jones for The New York Times Jobless claims fell last week to their lowest level of the pandemic and the latest data on retail […]

Jobless claims will offer a gauge of the pandemic’s continuing toll.

With the pandemic’s end seemingly in sight, the economy is poised for a dynamic revival. But one measure has continued to frustrate the resurgence: the number of weekly applications for unemployment claims, which have remained stubbornly high for months even as businesses reopen and vaccination rates increase. After new claims hit a pandemic low in […]