State funding for higher education in the United States declined dramatically in the decade after the Great Recession, 2008-18, contributing to tuition increases and raising the costs borne by students. read more >
Arkansas' seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose from 5 percent in March to 10.2 percent in April, the state Department of Workforce Services reports. read more >
Although states are beginning to ease restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, many employers and workers will still continue to deal with the massive toll the pandemic has taken on the workforce. read more >
Sales of existing homes plunged 17.8% in April with the real estate market still in the grips of the coronavirus pandemic. read more >
More than 2.4 million people applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week in the latest wave of layoffs from the viral outbreak that triggered widespread business shutdowns two months ago and sent the economy into a deep recession. read more >
The virus itself is no respecter of persons, but the same is not true of economic collapse. read more >
The coronavirus pandemic has devastated the U.S. labor market. The unemployment rate in the United States soared to 14.7% in April, the highest since shortly after World War II. read more >
A sampling of business leaders give their forecasts for the next six months of business amid COVID-19. Part two of two. read more >
Michael Pakko, chief economist and state economic forecaster at the Arkansas Economic Development Institute at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, talks about the state of Arkansas' economy amid COVID-19. read more >
U.S. retail sales tumbled 16.4% from March to April as business shutdowns caused by the coronavirus kept shoppers away, threatened stores across the country and weighed down a sinking economy. read more >
A Census Bureau survey shows that nearly two-thirds of small businesses in Arkansas, Maine and Oklahoma, had received loans, among the highest in the nation. read more >
Nearly 3 million laid-off workers applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week as the viral outbreak led more companies to slash jobs even though most states have begun to let some businesses reopen under certain restrictions. read more >
A sampling of Arkansas business leaders share their forecasts for the next six months amid COVID-19, along with what indicators they're watching and how their industries are performing. Part one of two. read more >
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warns of the threat of a prolonged recession resulting from the viral outbreak and urged Congress and the White House to act further to prevent long-lasting economic damage. read more >
China’s direct investment in the United States fell last year to its lowest level since the Great Recession, even before the coronavirus pandemic shut down much of global commerce. read more >
The median rent for one-bedroom apartments in the United States for May rose a slight $4 a month to $1,092, while declining $7 to a median $1,347 for two-bedroom apartments. That’s according to research by Abodo, an apartment search company based in Madison, Wisconsin. read more >
We may never live in a post-COVID world, just as we have not achieved a post-influenza world, but pandemic conditions will eventually end and a new normal will emerge. read more >
The Arkansas multifamily sector enjoys sound fundamentals such as diversification of risk among multiple units and an ability to keep up cash flow in a recession. read more >
The U.S. unemployment rate hit 14.7% in April, the highest rate since the Great Depression, as 20.5 million jobs vanished in the worst monthly loss on record. The figures are stark evidence of the damage the coronavirus has done to a now-shattered economy. read more >
Nearly 3.2 million laid-off workers applied for unemployment benefits last week as the business shutdowns caused by the viral outbreak deepened the worst U.S. economic catastrophe in decades. read more >
