Jul 31, 2020 - Economy & Business

Pandemic wipes out 5 years of economic growth in 3 months

Data: Bureau of Economic Analysis vis FRED; Chart: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

The economic decline between April and June caused by the coronavirus pandemic brought the U.S. GDP back to levels last seen in 2015, according to data released Thursday.

Why it matters: While we fell into the hole swiftly, economists are dashing hopes of an equally swift recovery. They warn it could take years for the U.S. to recover.

Meanwhile, record-breaking economic drops are being recorded across the globe.

Massive economic contractions happened across the European Union, data out this morning shows: Spain's economy fared the worst with a 18.5% drop from the prior quarter.
Mexico’s Q2 GDP fell 17.3% from the prior quarter — the biggest quarterly contraction on record, according to data released yesterday.

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Courtenay Brown

Aug 7, 2020 - Economy & Business

U.S. economy adds 1.8 million jobs in July

Data: Bureau of Labor Statistics; Chart: Axios Visuals

The U.S. added 1.8 million jobs last month, while the unemployment rate fell to 10.2% from 11.1% in June, the Labor Department said on Friday.

Why it matters: The labor market continued to recover but the pace of job growth slowed significantly from June’s 4.8 million job gain, suggesting a stalled improvement as coronavirus cases surged and states pulled back on reopening plans.

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Axios

Updated 21 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 3 p.m. ET: 20,158,258 — Total deaths: 738,063 — Total recoveries: 12,388,686 — Map.
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 3 p.m. ET: 5,116,791 — Total deaths: 164,137 — Total recoveries: 1,670,755 — Total tests: 62,513,174 — Map.
States: Florida reports another daily record for deaths — State testing plans fall short of demand.
Axios-Ipsos poll: 1 in 2 has a personal connection to COVID-19.
Business: Moderna reveals it may not hold patent rights for vaccine.
🏈 Sports: Big Ten scraps fall football season due to coronavirus.

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Fadel Allassan

29 mins ago - Sports

Big Ten postpones fall sports due to coronavirus

Photo: Joe Robbins/Getty Images

The Big Ten announced Tuesday that it has voted to postpone its 2020 fall sports season, including football, due to risks posed by the coronavirus pandemic, hoping instead to play in the spring.

Why it matters: The move from one of the most prominent conferences in college sports will almost certainly prompt other Power Five leagues to follow suit.