WASHINGTON, D.C. — A total of 719,000 Americans filed for unemployment assistance for the week that ended March 27, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday. The amount of initial jobless claims was higher than the 675,000 figure that economists surveyed by Dow Jones predicted and is an increase from last week’s revised amount of 658,000. Continuing claims, for which data lags a week, decreased by 46,000 to a little more than 3.8 million. Despite the unemployment insurance claims being higher than what economists predicted, many believe the economy is improving. CNBC reports the total number of people receiving unemployment benefits dropped by 1.5 million, which the news company attributes to pandemic-related benefits. This report follows President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion spending plan released yesterday that will add to the $5 trillion of stimulus spent to aid the U.S. economy. ADP, a payroll processing firm, stated that firms across the country added 517,000 workers in March, which is the biggest monthly job gain since September, according to CNBC. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics will release its March 2021 jobs report tomorrow morning.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A total of 684,000 Americans filed for unemployment assistance for the week that ended March 20, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday. This week was the first-time total claims fell below 700,000 since the pandemic started, according to CNBC. The amount of initial jobless claims was lower than the 735,000 figure that economists surveyed by Dow Jones predicted and is a decrease from last week’s revised amount of 770,000. Continuing claims, for which data lags a week, decreased to a little more than 3.8 million. Employers in the United States added 379,000 jobs last month, and the unemployment rate decreased to 6.2 percent. With jobs rebounding, the $1.9 trillion stimulus and the continued rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal increased their 2021 economic growth forecast for the U.S. GDP to a little over 5.9 percent on an annualized basis. If realized, it will be the fastest economic growth pace in about four decades.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A total of 770,000 Americans filed for unemployment assistance for the week that ended March 13, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday. The amount of initial jobless claims was higher than the 700,000 figure that economists surveyed by Dow Jones predicted and is an increase from last week’s revised amount of 725,000. Continuing claims, for which data lags a week, decreased to a little more than 4.1 million. The unemployment numbers were expected to fall lower due to COVID-19 vaccines and lessening restrictions on retailers and restaurants, as well as President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion relief package that was signed into law last week. States around the country are continuing to open back up and lessen restrictions as well. According to CNBC, Texas, Florida and Mississippi have either reduced pandemic restrictions or completely gotten rid of them. Other states like Pennsylvania are expected to cut back on its business restrictions as well, and approximately 2.4 million Americans a day are getting the vaccine. CNBC also reports that the Federal Reserve’s governing committee will hold the federal funds rate close to zero until the economy fully recovers.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Commerce Department has reported that retail sales decreased 3 percent in February, following a robust showing in January. According to CNBC, economists surveyed by Reuters expected February retail sales to only drop 0.5 percent in light of inclement weather around the country. The Commerce Department also revised January retail sales total up from 5.3 percent to 7.6 percent. Nonstore retailers were up 25.9 percent from February 2020, while food services and drinking places were down 17 percent from a year ago. Overall retail sales were up 6.3 percent above this time last year. Other types of businesses were also down in the month of February. Gas stations were down 3.5 percent, motor vehicle and parts dealers were down 4.2 percent, furniture and home stores were down 3.8 percent and electronics and appliance stores were down 1.9 percent. According to The Wall Street Journal, February is typically a slow month for retailers as stores prepare for the spring season and Easter. The article also states that economists are forecasting for retail sales to be higher in the coming months because of warmer weather and stimulus checks. As part of the most recent stimulus package, some Americans …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A total of 712,000 Americans filed for unemployment assistance for the week that ended March 6, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday. The amount of initial jobless claims was below the 725,000 figure that economists surveyed by Dow Jones predicted and is a decrease from last week’s revised amount of 745,000. Continuing claims, for which data lags a week, decreased by 193,000 to 4.1 million. CNBC reports that unemployment numbers are expected to lower even more in the coming weeks due to President Joe Biden signing a $1.9 trillion relief package into law, which is expected for Friday. The House of Representatives passed the revised stimulus plan on Wednesday. The U.S. economy still has a long way to go before it is completely back to pre-pandemic levels, with a total number unemployed workers totaling 10 million through February. CNBC reports that the number of individuals receiving partial or full unemployment compensation totaled 20 million as of Feb. 20.
By Sydney Bardouil, Esq. After the tumult and disruptions of 2020, the last thing taxpayers need is another surprise. Our society craves predictability more than ever before, and commercial real estate owners want predictability in their property taxes. In the District of Columbia, commercial real estate owners keen to make their future expenses more predictable can start by familiarizing themselves with the full gamut of real property liabilities. In addition to the standard annual property tax, the District imposes a variety of charges on real estate that vary by the property’s location, use and payment history. Managing these real estate charges can help a taxpayer budget for upcoming expenses and minimize the risk of incurring unplanned costs. What follows is a primer to help taxpayers manage real property tax liabilities in the District. Start with the basics The DC Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR) recently launched MyTax.DC.gov, a new taxpayer website intended to streamline the tax assessment and billing processes. This single portal offers insight into taxes on individual income, businesses and real property, as well as fees administered by OTR. The site features self-service tools that enable taxpayers to review and pay property tax bills online, view assessment …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. economy added 379,000 jobs in February, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Friday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected the report to show a gain of 210,000 jobs, according to CNBC. The unemployment rate fell 10 basis points to 6.2 percent in February. The biggest employment spike was seen in leisure and hospitality, which increased by 355,000 as pandemic-related restrictions eased in some parts of the country thanks in part to the COVID-19 vaccine rollouts. States such as Texas and Mississippi are lifting all COVID-19 restrictions, including limits on capacity at buildings and facilities. Despite the February surge, the leisure and hospitality sector is still 3.5 million short from its employment level in February 2020, the month before the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a global pandemic. The recent pickup in the sector caused the employment percentages to fall from 15.9 percent to 13.5 percent. The food services and accommodation subsector saw the jobless rate decrease from 15.3 percent to 12.7 percent. Within the professional and business services category, temporary help services added 53,000 jobs in February but remain 175,000 shy from a year ago. Healthcare and retail also generated employment …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A total of 745,000 Americans filed for unemployment insurance for the week that ended Feb. 27, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday. The amount of initial jobless claims was below the 750,000 figure that economists surveyed by Dow Jones predicted and is an increase from last week’s revised amount of 736,000. Continuing claims, for which data lags a week, decreased to a little below 4.3 million. CNBC reports that the continuing claims total hit another pandemic-era low. Additionally, the outlet reports that winter storms in Texas hurt the economy in the state, causing an increase of 17,769 unemployment filings. Ohio and New York also experienced elevated claims.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Retail Federation (NRF) predicts that U.S. retail sales will grow anywhere from 6.5 percent to 8.2 percent this year, with a total of more than $4.3 trillion in sales. The NRF attributes the expected growth in retail sales to the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines over the course of the year, which will lead to stores to be frequented en masse. Many Americans were homebound in 2020 and so in turn they shifted to a more e-commerce focus. Online sales grew by 21.9 percent last year to total $969.4 billion in sales. The NRF reported that overall retail sales grew 6.7 percent to $4.1 trillion last year. (The numbers exclude automobile dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants.) E-commerce is anticipated to grow even more in 2021, with the NRF predicting a 18 to 23 percent growth rate and for online sales to hover around $1.14 trillion to $1.19 trillion. Additionally, the Washington, D.C.-based trade group expects the economy to gain from 220,000 to 300,000 jobs each month this year. Overall, the NRF predicts GDP annualized growth of 4.5 to 5 percent, up from the 4.1 percent annualized growth in fourth-quarter 2020. NRF’s chief economist Jack Kleinhenz …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A total of 730,000 Americans filed for unemployment assistance for the week that ended Feb. 20, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday. The amount of initial jobless claims exceeded the 845,000 figure that economists surveyed by Dow Jones predicted and is a decrease from last week’s revised amount of 841,000. The four-week moving average declined to 807,750 claims, a 20,500 decrease from the revised average for the previous four weeks. Continuing claims, for which data lags a week, decreased to a little above 4.4 million. CNBC reports that the continuing claims number is the lowest since the pandemic started.