Scott Horsley

U.S. employers unexpectedly added jobs last month as the unemployment rate declined, signs that people are returning to work as states reopen their economies. President Trump celebrated the news.

The Labor Department says about 1.9 million people filed for unemployment last week, but there are some signs that people may be returning to their jobs.

There are indications layoffs from the coronavirus pandemic may be easing. Initial claims for unemployment have been slowing, and as businesses start to reopen, some people are going back to work.

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.

With many stores and restaurants closed last month, consumer spending plunged. That's a big blow for the economy, since consumers are the nation's biggest economic engine.

NPR's chief economics correspondent looks back at the question answered on the National Conversation about the economy. Past callers reconnect to update on how they have fared during the pandemic.

NPR's chief economics correspondent looks back at the question answered on the National Conversation about the economy. Past callers reconnect to update on how they have fared during the pandemic.

Relations between the economic giants have gone downhill fast since they signed a preliminary trade pact four months ago. The latest tussles over the coronavirus and Hong Kong add to the friction.

For more than two out of three unemployed workers, jobless benefits exceed their old pay, researchers say. That can raise awkward questions for workers, bosses and policymakers.

Millions of laid-off Americans collect more in unemployment benefits than they did working. Congress did that to try to cushion the coronavirus fallout, but those benefits are getting a second look.

Even as the nation's economy slowly reopens after shutdown, reports of millions more unemployed keep rolling in. NPR's economics and science correspondents discuss the latest coronavirus news.

The United States is still losing jobs at an alarming pace two months after the coronavirus pandemic took hold. Another 2.4 million people filed claims for jobless benefits last week.

NPR Correspondents Rob Schmitz and Scott Horsley talk about stimulus efforts in the U.S. and Europe and how governments are dealing with sharp and sudden economic downturns during the pandemic.

NPR's economics and science correspondents discuss the latest in the nation's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

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.

The Senate Banking Committee took its first look at spending under the massive CARES Act approved in March. Sen. Elizabeth Warren said more should have been done to keep U.S. workers on the payroll.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell warns it could be another year and a half before the U.S. recovers from the economic fallout of the pandemic. But he says this will not be another Great Depression.

The speed and scale of the economic crash have drawn comparisons to the Great Depression. But this downturn should be shorter, former Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and other economic historians say.

Almost three million more Americans filed for unemployment last week. Job losses are widespread, but those with low-paid jobs have been hit especially hard.

NPR's chief economics correspondent takes listener questions about the state of the U.S. economy during the coronavirus pandemic.