The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in a deluge of data. There are statistics everywhere you look, from the number of tests administered and cases confirmed, to the jobs lost, stimulus money spent, and Peloton bikes purchased. Understanding data feels more important than ever right now.
Americans are increasingly spending handsomely on the health of their pets.
If you’re an accountant, lawyer, or consultant, now is a very bad time to look for a new gig. In September, US job postings for the “professional and business services” sector were down by 40% from January, compared to 20% lower for jobs overall, according to data from Glassdoor.
The US and the UK have taken different approaches to helping workers through the Covid-19 pandemic. While the US government increased support to those without work through enhanced unemployment benefits, the UK subsidized job retention schemes that paid companies to keep their workers on staff (many other European countries did the same).
From Washington to Berlin, officials are scrambling to find the best ways to help workers.
Over the last several decades, the TV show has shrunk.
Spotify is having quite the 2020. Today, the streaming giant’s market value is at about $46 billion—as recently as early April, Spotify was worth half that.
Something is happening to the way Americans listen to music. The most popular songs appear to be getting a little less popular.
The coronavirus pandemic has pushed US financial data into extreme territory.
The 2020 US presidential race will have a bigger share of eligible foreign-born voters than any other election in more than a century. This year they will make up about 10% of all eligible voters, up from 6% in 2000, according to a report from the Pew Research Center.
The live online music company MelodyVR announced on Aug. 21 that it was acquiring the music streaming company Napster for $70 million. Yes, that Napster. The same one that, if you are of a certain age, you might have used to download music illegally at the turn of the millennium. Its business model morphed over the years, but the Napster brand has never actually died. Today, it is a music streaming service with 3 million users.
The Covid-19 pandemic means that, at least in the short term, living in a big city is not as crucial as it was in the past. With fewer people going into offices, cafes, and other public spaces, the chances to make connections locally are decreasing. At the same time, people are spending more time communicating online, where geography is practically irrelevant.
US liquor imports have fallen off the table. In the second quarter of 2020, the US brought in about $1.8 billion in liquor from abroad, down from $2.5 billion in 2019, a fall of nearly 30%. The decline has been most acute for whiskey imports, which are down by almost 50%, with cognac and brandies seeing a similar dive.
It’s not often that a 19th century old technology makes a comeback. But that’s exactly what has happened to the phonograph record. After more than a decade of increasing sales, and the boom continuing through a pandemic, it’s safe to say it: Vinyl is back, baby.
Just a generation ago, an American with Kamala Harris’s particular biracial heritage would have been highly unusual. Due to changes in immigration laws in the 1960s, it’s not much of an anomaly today.
Even before the arrival of Covid-19, delivery jobs were the fastest growing in the US. The pandemic sent that trend into overdrive.
The US presidential election is three months away, and the polls and forecasts are rolling in. Based on surveys and economic indicators available on Aug. 3, The Economist predicts Joe Biden will get 54% of the popular vote and Donald Trump 46%, which means they give Biden 91% chance of winning the presidency. The website FiveThirtyEight has Biden up 50% to 42% in national polls. A New York Times polls shows Biden up by at least six points in six key battleground states.
In April 2019, the North American cannabis industry was riding high. The stock market value of public cannabis companies had tripled over the last year and a half. Investors observed legalization sweeping the US, and saw the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of an industry projected to become worth tens of billions of dollars.
As part of the US’s response to coronavirus pandemic, the federal government supercharged unemployment insurance. Since late March, the millions of Americans on unemployment insurance have received an extra $600 dollars a week, on top of what they would normally receive. The $600 enhancement is set to expire today, July 31, and it’s unlikely to be immediately extended, as Congress haggles over how to continue stimulating the economy.
Spending among poor Americans is just about back to pre-pandemic levels. After falling by more than 25% in late March and April, weekly purchases by poor Americans in July almost rebounded to where they were in January. This is according to credit and debit card transaction information analyzed by Opportunity Insights, a policy institute based at Harvard University.
The S&P 500, a benchmark that tracks 500 large US-listed stocks, is back to its January levels after a big dip around the time that Covid-19 first hit the US. The steady performance of the stock market has mystified many observers, as it suggests a decoupling of the stock market from the sputtering US economy. The New York Federal Reserve is projecting US GDP to fall by around 14% in the second quarter of 2020.
Life expectancy got much higher for most everyone in rich countries over the last several decades. But in the US, the rich are adding years to their life faster than the poor—and probably faster than the rich in other countries.
The kids are heading home. About 35% of Americans in their 20s lived with either their parents or grandparents in June 2020, according to data from the US’s monthly employment survey. This is up from just over 30% in February 2020, before the Covid-19 pandemic reached the US. The increase in young adults moving back with their family was first reported by real estate company Zillow.
