National

Weekly jobless claims spike

In the week ending February 13, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 861,000, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week's revised level. Last week's level was revised up by 55,000 from 793,000 to 848,000. The 4-week… more

Pharmacies up recruitment to help administer COVID vaccine

Pharmacy chains across the U.S. are on hiring sprees to recruit pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to help with the national COVID-19 vaccination campaign, The New York Times reported Feb. 10.  The U.S. is set to send 1 million vaccine doses to roughly 6,500 retail… more

GAO calls for delay in implementing Cerner’s $16B EHR System for Department of Veterans Affairs

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is recommending the Department of Veterans Affairs pause the implementation of its $16 billion Cerner EHR system to perform "critical" tests before deploying the system at any additional facilities.  The VA went live with the new… more

SBA assists 1.4M businesses this week, approves $103B in PPP

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and lenders in junction with the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) have been working together to increase equitable access to underserved small businesses and to promote rapid and efficient distribution of funds. This week, the… more

In a Nutshell

As a labor economist Janet Yellen is going to have her hands full, especially since the Biden Administration’s new $15 per hour minimum wage is likely going to slow new job creation, especially for many struggling restaurants and service industries.… more

Small businesses unsure of survival without more aid

Around a third of the surviving U.S. small businesses say they won't be able to survive without another round of COVID-19 aid, according to a report published by the Federal Reserve. The report found that sales for 88 percent of… more

Jobless claims drop though remain above estimate

In the week ending February 6, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 793,000, a decrease of 19,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 33,000 from 779,000 to 812,000. The… more

Insurance Insights with Claude Thau

Many people ask: “When is the best time to buy long-term care insurance (LTCi)?”  The answer: “Now, if you can afford the premium on an on-going basis and don’t have higher priority needs.” The amount of coverage today is relatively… more

T-Mobile sees total revenue boost of 71 percent during Q4 in months following Sprint merger

Nearly one year since closing on its merger with Sprint Corporation on April 1, 2020, T-Mobile US is seeing sizable revenue gains. In Q4 of 2020, T-Mobile’s total revenue rose 71 percent. Adding 1.7 million new customers in Q4, the… more

U.S. workforce participation among women falls in January

A lasting workforce theme over the last several months has been the decline of women in the labor market. January 2021 saw an estimated 275,000 women exit the workforce according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a significantly larger… more