U.S. employers added just 245,000 jobs last month as the runaway pandemic continued to weigh on hiring. The unemployment rate fell to 6.7% from 6.9% in October.Read More
You can add a new term to your lexicon: "Zoom towns." These are scenic places experiencing a surge of house hunters. Booming demand comes from workers freed by the pandemic to work from home long term.Read More
Earlier this year, Yakima County was among the worst-hit places for COVID-19 in Washington and the West Coast. It and the Tri-Cities region were among the last counties to open for indoor bar and restaurant service. Now, with another statewide closure, some restaurant operators are pushing back and refusing to close. Read More
The auto industry was devastated this spring by coronavirus shutdowns. But the recovery has been much faster and stronger than anyone anticipated as demand for new trucks and SUVs continues.Read More
The Small Business Administration had to quickly disburse coronavirus relief loans. But some of that may have been handed out to fraudsters, an agency report says.Read More
Many unemployed Americans have been tapping into their savings to pay bills. But those savings are going fast, and hopes for a new round of pandemic relief before the election are fading.Read More
The governor said in a news conference Wednesday that he’s concerned about housing insecurity during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Read More
Online classes and no fall college sports spell trouble for Washington college towns like Pullman, Ellensburg and Bellingham that lean on a higher education-fueled economy.Read More
Every year, the Tiny Desk Contest attracts thousands of unsigned musicians — like powerhouse singer Danielle Ponder. Her entry, "Poor Man's Pain," was inspired by her work as a public defender.Read More
Prosecutors say those charged attempted to steal more than $175 million from the Paycheck Protection Program, which is meant to provide relief to small businesses impacted by the pandemic.Read More
On Aug. 3, Gov. Inslee announced new rules for indoor fitness studios and gyms that nearly tripled the required spacing between class participants from six feet to 17 feet. Krueger expressed her frustration in a 4-minute video she posted to Instagram. “I have to say that I am freaking pissed,” she said in the video. “We’re unable to pay our bills with these mandates; that Read More
President Trump has directed the Treasury Department to stop collecting payroll taxes this fall in an effort to boost workers' paychecks. But the move is temporary, and could spark headaches in 2021.Read More
President Trump signed four executive actions to provide economic relief amid the coronavirus pandemic. They amount to a stopgap measure after not reaching a deal with Congress.Read More
Thousands of foreign workers who entered the U.S. on temporary work visas received $1,200 pandemic stimulus checks in error, and many of them are spending the money in their home countries.Read More
The parent company Tailored Brands earlier said it would close up to 500 stores and cut 20% of corporate jobs. It's joined in pandemic bankruptcy by rival Brooks Brothers and a growing list of others.Read More
The coronavirus triggered the sharpest economic contraction in modern history in the second quarter as the pandemic hammered the economy, the Commerce Department said Thursday.Read More
After days of delays, congressional Republicans unveiled their $1 trillion proposal for a fifth wave of pandemic relief. Democrats are not on board — signaling tough negotiations ahead.Read More
State governments face a precipitous drop in revenue, parents and teachers are debating how kids will return to school in the fall, and millions of unemployed workers face the prospect of their pandemic assistance running out at the end of the month.Read More
In another sign of how the coronavirus is disrupting commerce, banks are running short of nickels, dimes and quarters. The Federal Reserve, which supplies banks, is having to ration change. Read More
In a move not seen since the Great Recession, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Wednesday canceled pay raises for some state employees and ordered furloughs for many more through at least this fall. The move came the same day a new state revenue forecast projected an $8.8 billion drop in tax collections over the next three years.Read More
Spending is still nowhere near last year's. But as more states and cities allowed restaurants and shopping centers to reopen, May saw a big swing from a historic collapse in March and April.Read More
The Fed leaves interest rates near zero as expected, and promises to use all of its tools to support the economy. Officials project unemployment above 9% at the end of this year.Read More
The committee tasked with marking U.S. business cycles says the economy peaked in February and has since been in a recession triggered by the pandemic. But it says the recession could be short-lived.Read More
Frustration with long delays in getting jobless benefits is boiling over into a lawsuit against the Washington State Employment Security Department. Attorneys representing two laid off workers and the nonprofit Unemployment Law Project filed the case directly with the state Supreme Court on Friday.Read More
Hardship programs appear to be helping many people pause payments and survive the economic shutdown so far. But not everybody is getting the help, and advocates see big potential trouble ahead.Read More
African Americans are 40% less likely to own their homes than whites. And blacks are more likely to hold jobs that put them at risk of the coronavirus. The civil unrest follows decades of inequality.Read More
More than 1 in 4 U.S. workers have lost their jobs since coronavirus shutdowns began. Last week, an additional 2.1 million people filed for unemployment benefits.Read More
The number of people traveling by air has plummeted more than 90% since the beginning of March. More than half of the employees losing their jobs are being laid off involuntarily.Read More
Washington’s Commerce Department has announced about $10 million in coronavirus relief grants for some of the state’s smallest businesses. Nearly 200 businesses in rural eastern Washington towns are among the recipients.Read More
California led the nation in issuing a statewide stay-at-home order. And it's paying an economic price: a $54 billion deficit. As the state reopens, it seeks to balance the economy and public health.Read More
Because of the COVID-19 crisis, 47% of adults say their households have lost employment income and close to 40% have delayed getting medical care, according to early results of a Census Bureau survey.Read More
Though its stores remained open, Target saw its online sales jump 141% in the past three months, with 5 million shopping on the retailer chain's website for the first time. Read More
Lawmakers squabbled over how quickly the economy can rebound from the coronavirus shutdown and whether the government is doing enough to support struggling families and businesses.Read More
Gov. Jay Inslee on Tuesday said that 10 additional counties are eligible to apply to loosen some social distancing restrictions in place to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.Read More
Governors around the country have begun slowly allowing stores, restaurants and malls to serve customers again. But it won't count for much if people are afraid to venture out again.Read More
Retail sales saw record drops for the second month in a row. Other categories with huge declines included a 59% dive in furniture sales and 29% decreases in department stores and gas stations.Read More
Idaho Gov. Brad Little says the Gem State will move to the second phase of state’s four-part coronavirus recovery plan on Saturday. That means businesses such as gyms and hair salons will be able to reopen with the appropriate precautions. Little made his announcement Thursday and threw in a surprise as well.Read More
The latest inflation data offers a snapshot of Americans' new pandemic spending habits. Prices are down for most goods and services but up sharply for groceries.Read More
The current estimated unemployment rate far exceeds the 10 percent peak reached in the Great Recession in 2009. It is the most devastating loss of jobs since the Great Depression, when economists estimate the unemployment rate reached 25 percent in 1933. Read More
U.S. employers shed a record number of jobs in April, as the unemployment rate climbed to the highest since the Great Depression. The coronavirus crisis has locked down much of the economy.Read More
Tenino, a small town in Thurston County, Washington, has approved a plan to print its own money on strips of wood. Again. It’s a response to the COVID-19 crisis that’s modeled after how the town responded to a prior crisis — the Great Depression.Read More
Washington's 'stay home' order will extend until at least May 31. On Friday, Gov. Jay Inslee announced the new time frame and that businesses will be able to open over four phases.Read More
Idaho Governor Brad Little kicked off the process Thursday of “re-opening” the state after five weeks of “stay home, stay healthy” measures to help stem the spread of coronavirus.Read More
Another 3.8 million people filed claims for unemployment last week, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to weigh on the U.S. job market. That brought the total for the past 6 weeks to 30.3 million.Read More
The economy contracted in the first quarter of 2020 as the coronavirus began to take its toll and spending dived. It's the first quarterly drop in six years and a likely precursor to a deep recession.Read More
Bankers tell NPR that the SBA's portal wouldn't allow them to enter the loan application information that is needed to access the PPP program.Read More
Some states are moving forward, but many would be wise to wait, according to experts at the University of Washington. Here's their estimate for each state's safe date to reopen.Read More
The biggest item in the $484 billion measure is roughly $321 billion in additional funding for a small-business loan program. President Trump signed the legislation on Friday. Read More
Idaho Gov. Brad Little has announced a four-stage plan for re-opening the state’s businesses and communities after closures due to the coronavirus. The first stage is scheduled to take effect May 1.Read More
The number of people forced out of work during the coronavirus lockdown keeps soaring. Last week, 4.4 million people filed for jobless benefits, boosting the total since last month to 26 million.Read More
