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Biden Signs $1T Infrastructure Bill with Bipartisan Audience
President Joe Biden signed his $1 trillion infrastructure deal into law Monday on the White House lawn, the Associated Press reported. The president says that it will deliver jobs, clean water, high-speed internet and a clean energy future. In order to achieve a bipartisan deal, the president had to cut back his initial ambition to spend $2.3 trillion on infrastructure by more than half. The bill that becomes law on Monday in reality includes about $550 billion in new spending over 10 years, since some of the expenditures in the package were already planned. Biden also tried unsuccessfully to tie the infrastructure package to passage of a broader package of $1.85 trillion in proposed spending on families, health care and a shift to renewable energy that could help address climate change. That measure has yet to gain sufficient support from the narrow Democratic majorities in the Senate and House.
U.S. Jobless Claims Drop to Pandemic Low of 267,000
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell to a new pandemic low of 267,000 last week as the job market recovers from last year’s sharp coronavirus downturn, the Associated Press reported. Jobless claims fell by 4,000 last week, the Labor Department reported. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out weekly ups and downs, dropped by nearly 7,300 to 278,000, also a pandemic low. Applications for unemployment aid have been falling mostly steadily since topping 900,000 in early January and are gradually nearing pre-pandemic levels of around 220,000 a week. Claims, a proxy for layoffs, have now dropped for six straight weeks. There were 2.2 million Americans collecting traditional unemployment benefits the week that ended Oct. 30. The job market has been recovering for the past year and a half. In March and April of 2020, employers slashed more than 22 million jobs as governments ordered lockdowns and consumers and workers stayed home as a health precaution. Since then, employers have added more than 18 million jobs as the rollout of vaccines and government relief programs gave consumers the confidence and financial wherewithal to resume spending.
A New Recruitment Tool for Employers: Paying Workers Every Day
Struggling to attract workers as the coronavirus pandemic drags on, major companies are dangling an uncommon benefit to lure job candidates: a chance to get paid every day, CBS News reported. Dozens of employers are now giving employees the option to withdraw money from their paychecks moments after finishing their shift by using smartphone apps like Branch or DailyPay. "Usually people aren't taking out $100 to go to the bar at night," DailyPay Chief Marketing Officer Jeanniey Walden said. "They're taking out, for example, $37.10 because they have a light bill that they forgot to pay." Such apps are essentially software add-ons to existing payroll systems like ADP. Employees can download the app on their iPhone or Android device and log in using a company-provided email or phone number. The app shows workers by the hour how much cash they're earning as their shift progresses throughout the work day and allows them to transfer their wages to a connected bank account with the touch of a button. Taxes and any pay garnishments are automatically taken out before a user can tap into the funds. Withdrawing wages whittles down the amount workers would ordinarily get when paid in full every two weeks. Still, Walden said the service benefits both employers and workers, noting that DailyPay is free to companies. "And for employees, they finally have a transparent way to see how much they're making, so they can manage their finances better," she said.
The Biggest Kink in America’s Supply Chain: Not Enough Truckers
Truck drivers have been in short supply for years, but a wave of retirements combined with those simply quitting for less stressful jobs is exacerbating the supply chain crisis in the U.S., leading to empty store shelves, panicked holiday shoppers and congestion at ports, the New York Times reported. Warehouses around the country are overflowing with products, and delivery times have stretched to months from days or weeks for many goods. A report released last month by the American Trucking Associations estimated that the industry is short 80,000 drivers, a record number, and one the association said could double by 2030 as more retire. Supply-chain problems stem from a number of factors, including an extraordinary surge in demand for goods and factory shutdowns abroad. But the situation has been compounded by a shortage of truckers and deteriorating conditions across the transportation sector, which have made it even harder for consumers to get the things they want when they want them.
October Jobs Report: Strong Rebound as U.S. Economy Adds 531,000 Jobs
The U.S. labor market sprang back to life in October after a summer slowdown, with employers briskly adding jobs and nearly 200,000 women joining the labor force, the Wall Street Journal reported. The economy churned out 531,000 new jobs last month, the biggest gain in three months, the Labor Department said Friday. Restaurants, consulting firms and factories all boosted hiring, suggesting broad strength across the economy. Nationwide job growth was also stronger in August and September than previously estimated, with new data boosting employment over that period by 235,000 jobs. The unemployment rate fell to 4.6% in October from 4.8% a month earlier, and is down by more than half a percentage point in just two months. Stocks marched higher, and bond yields fell after the strong report. The U.S. still has 4 million fewer jobs than in February 2020, the month before the pandemic shut down much of the economy, and the unemployment rate remains higher than the pre-pandemic level of 3.5%. But Friday’s report showed the economy rebounding from the summer wave of the Delta variant, a highly contagious strain of COVID-19. Employers say they are eager to hire and are raising wages as they compete over a depleted pool of workers.
Retailers Scramble to Attract Workers Ahead of the Holidays
Retailers, expecting the holiday shopping season to be bustling once again this year after being upended by the coronavirus in 2020, are scrambling to find enough workers to staff their stores and distribution centers in a tight labor market, the New York Times reported. It is not proving easy to entice applicants to an industry that has been battered, more than most, by the pandemic’s many challenges, from fights over mask-wearing to high rates of infection among employees. Willing retail workers are likely to earn larger paychecks and work fewer hours, while consumers may be greeted by less inventory and understaffed stores. Macy’s is offering referral bonuses of up to $500 for each friend or family member that employees recruit to join the company. Walmart is paying as much as $17 an hour to start and has begun offering free college tuition to its workers. And some Amazon warehouse jobs now command signing bonuses of up to $3,000. While some of the most generous perks, like tuition reimbursement, are being offered mainly to long-term workers, even seasonal workers will see higher pay than usual. It’s especially critical for retailers to hire temporary help this year because existing employees are already strained from nearly two years of pandemic conditions. The National Retail Federation, an industry group, is anticipating record holiday sales and has forecast that retailers will hire 500,000 to 665,000 seasonal workers, significantly more than the 486,000 in 2020.
Congress Approves $1.2 Trillion Infrastructure Bill, Sending Measure to Biden for Enactment
House lawmakers late Friday adopted a roughly $1.2 trillion measure to improve the country’s roads, bridges, pipes, ports and Internet connections, overcoming their own internecine divides to secure a long-sought burst in federal investment and deliver President Biden a major legislative win, the Washington Post reported. The bipartisan 228-to-206 vote marked the final milestone for the first of two pieces in the president’s sprawling economic agenda. The outcome sends to Biden’s desk an initiative that promises to deliver its benefits to all 50 states, a manifestation of his 2020 campaign pledge to rejuvenate the economy in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic and “build back better.” The path to passage proved littered with political conflict, pushing to the limits a fractious party with still-widening ideological fissures. Democrats initially hoped to approve the infrastructure bill on Friday along with a separate, roughly $2 trillion proposal to overhaul the nation’s health care, education, immigration, climate and tax laws. Doing so would have advanced two spending initiatives that have been stalled on Capitol Hill for months.
Appeals Court Freezes Biden Vaccine Requirement After Federal Lawsuit
A federal appeals court suspended the Biden administration’s new vaccine requirement for private companies, delivering a major blow for one of the White House’s signature attempts to increase the number of vaccinations to corral the pandemic, the Washington Post reported. The decision was issued by a panel of three judges appointed by Republican presidents in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The judges wrote that there was “cause to believe there are grave statutory and constitutional issues with the mandate,” staying the order while the court assesses it in more depth. The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed Friday by a group of plaintiffs including Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry (R), part of a wave of lawsuits against the order from mostly Republican-aligned groups and politicians. The unsigned, four-paragraph order from the panel temporarily stops Biden’s mandate but is not a ruling on the merits of the policy. The court gave the Justice Department until 5 p.m. Monday to respond to the challenger’s request for a more permanent halt to the mandate.
