Consumer spending
FILE - In this May 2, 2021, file photo, a woman adjusts her face mask as she walks by a statue featuring the Beijing Winter Olympics figure skating on display at the Shougang Park in Beijing. China's "zero tolerance" strategy of trying to isolate every case and stop transmission of the coronavirus has kept kept the country where the virus first was detected in late 2019 largely free of the disease. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)
China keeps virus at bay at high cost ahead of Olympics

By Joe Mcdonald And Huizhong Wu Sep. 21, 2021 08:32 PM EDT

A customer wears a mask as she waits to get a receipt at a register in Target store in Vernon Hills, Ill., Sunday, May 23, 2021. Consumer spending was flat in May while incomes dropped for a second month as the impact of the government’s individual impact payments waned. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
May consumer spending flat; incomes fall and prices jump

By Martin Crutsinger Jun. 25, 2021 11:51 AM EDT

FILE - In this Friday, May 7, 2021 file photo, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley graduates sit social distanced in the early morning sunrise during their commencement ceremony in Edinburg, Texas. U.S. consumer borrowing rose by $18.6 billion in April 2021, fueled by a big rise in auto and student loans that offset a drop in credit card use. (Delcia Lopez/The Monitor via AP)/The Monitor via AP)
Auto, student loans fuel April rise in US consumer borrowing

By Martin Crutsinger Jun. 07, 2021 04:21 PM EDT

McConnell: Extra jobless benefit hurts back-to-work efforts

By Bruce Schreiner Jun. 02, 2021 04:42 PM EDT
SHELBYVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky’s acceptance of extra jobless benefits is hampering efforts by businesses to find help as the economy moves beyond the...

A member of the wait staff delivers food to outdoor diners along the sidewalk at the Mediterranean Deli restaurant in Chapel Hill, N.C., Friday, April 16, 2021. The U.S. economy grew at a brisk 6.4% annual rate last quarter — a show of strength fueled by government aid and declining viral cases that could drive further gains as the nation rebounds with unusual speed from the pandemic recession. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
US consumers boosted spending in April as inflation surged

By Martin Crutsinger May. 28, 2021 08:38 AM EDT

A member of the wait staff delivers food to outdoor diners along the sidewalk at the Mediterranean Deli restaurant in Chapel Hill, N.C., Friday, April 16, 2021. The U.S. economy grew at a brisk 6.4% annual rate last quarter — a show of strength fueled by government aid and declining viral cases that could drive further gains as the nation rebounds with unusual speed from the pandemic recession. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
First quarter GDP unchanged at robust 6.4% annual rate

By Martin Crutsinger May. 27, 2021 08:39 AM EDT

Michigan tax revenues are $3.5B higher than past estimate

By David Eggert May. 21, 2021 11:59 AM EDT
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan's main funds will take in an estimated $3.5 billion more in taxes than previously forecast thanks to increased consumer spending...

A woman carries Target shopping bags as she leaves the store, Monday, April 19, 2021 in New York. Retail sales in the U.S. were flat in April, after soaring in March, when many Americans received $1,400 stimulus checks that boosted spending. The report from the U.S. Commerce Department was worse than the 0.8% growth Wall Street analysts had expected. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
Retail sales were flat in April as stimulus spending waned

By Joseph Pisani May. 14, 2021 08:48 AM EDT

A signs announcing they are hiring hangs in the window of a restaurant in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan in New York, Tuesday, May 4, 2021. Some restaurants in New York City are starting to hire employees now that they can increase their indoor dining to 75% of capacity starting May 7. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
US unemployment claims fall to a pandemic low of 498,000

By Christopher Rugaber May. 06, 2021 08:37 AM EDT

FILE - In this Dec. 1, 2020, file photo, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell speaks during a Senate Banking Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. The U.S. economy has been showing unexpected strength in recent weeks, with barometers of hiring, spending and manufacturing all surging. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, Pool)
Powell's high-stakes bet: More jobs but only mild inflation

By Christopher Rugaber May. 01, 2021 10:50 AM EDT

FILE - In this March 18, 2021 file photo, a salesperson helps a customer shopping for Bean Boots at the L.L. Bean flagship retail store in Freeport, Maine. U.S. consumer spending rebounded sharply in March while incomes soared, reflecting billions of dollars in government support payments aimed at putting the country firmly on the road to recovery.(AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)
March US incomes surge as relief rolls out, spending jumps

By Martin Crutsinger Apr. 30, 2021 10:07 AM EDT

A member of the wait staff delivers food to outdoor diners along the sidewalk at the Mediterranean Deli restaurant in Chapel Hill, N.C., Friday, April 16, 2021. The U.S. economy grew at a brisk 6.4% annual rate last quarter — a show of strength fueled by government aid and declining viral cases that could drive further gains as the nation rebounds with unusual speed from the pandemic recession. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
US recovery from pandemic recession is showing momentum

By Martin Crutsinger And Paul Wiseman Apr. 29, 2021 08:36 AM EDT

A child poses for photos near a movie advertisement along a retail street in Beijing on Friday, April 9, 2021. China’s economic growth surged to 18.3% over a year earlier in the first quarter of this year as factory and consumer activity recovered from the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
China's growth surges to 18.3% but rebound leveling off

By Joe Mcdonald Apr. 15, 2021 10:02 PM EDT

FILE - In this May 7, 2020, file photo, a person looks inside the closed doors of the Pasadena Community Job Center in Pasadena, Calif., during the coronavirus outbreak. While most Americans have weathered the pandemic financially, about 38 million say they are worse off now than before the outbreak began in the U.S. According to a new poll from Impact Genome and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research 55% of Americans say their financial circumstances are about the same now as a year ago, and 30% say their finances have improved. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
With layoffs down and spending up, US rebound gains momentum

By Christopher Rugaber And Joseph Pisani Apr. 15, 2021 08:41 AM EDT

Passers-by walks near an entrance to a Gap clothing store, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021, in Cambridge, Mass. Bouncing back from months of retrenchment, America’s consumers stepped up their spending by a solid 2.4% in January in a sign that the economy may be making a tentative recovery from the pandemic recession. Friday’s report from the Commerce Department also showed that personal incomes, which provide the fuel for spending, jumped 10% last month, boosted by cash payments most Americans received from the government. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Consumer spending dipped 1% as winter storms raked the US

By Martin Crutsinger Mar. 26, 2021 10:19 AM EDT

A "Now Hiring" sign is displayed, Thursday, March 4, 2021, in Salem, N.H. After a year of ghostly airports, empty sports stadiums and constant Zoom meetings, growing evidence suggests that the economy is strengthening. Hiring picked up in February 2021. Business restrictions have eased as the pace of viral infections has ebbed. Yet the economy remains far from normal. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
From job cuts to online commerce, virus reshaped US economy

By Christopher Rugaber Mar. 11, 2021 04:36 PM EST

An advertisement of a hair shop is seen at a shopping district in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, March 4, 2021. South Korea's central bank says the country's economy shrank for the first time in 22 years in 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic destroyed service industry jobs and depressed consumer spending. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
South Korea economy shrank in 2020 for 1st time in 22 years

Mar. 03, 2021 08:58 PM EST

Waitress Alin Lepetit stands in the outdoor area of a café on the market square during an action to open the outdoor gastronomy, Wernigerode, Germany, Wednesday, March 3, 2021. Behind her, passers-by watch from behind a barrier tape. Numerous businesses also took part in the action nationwide. (Matthias Bein/dpa via AP)
The Latest: SKorean economy shrinks for 1st time in 22 years

By The Associated Press Mar. 03, 2021 01:45 AM EST

FILE - In this Dec. 10, 2020 file photo, a woman carries shopping bags in New York. The nation’s largest retail trade group is forecasting strong retail sales growth in 2021 that could surpass last year's pace as individuals get vaccinated and the economy reopens. The National Retail Federation anticipates that retail sales will grow between 6.5% and 8.2% to more than $4.33 trillion this year. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
US consumers rebound to boost spending 2.4% as income jumps

By Martin Crutsinger Feb. 26, 2021 08:42 AM EST

FILE - This Aug. 11, 2019 file photo shows Visa credit cards in New Orleans. U.S. consumers increased their borrowing in December 2020 by $9.7 billion, as Americans took out loans to buy autos or finance their educations. But credit card use declined for the third-consecutive month. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)
US consumer credit rose a solid $9.7 billion in December

By Martin Crutsinger Feb. 05, 2021 04:16 PM EST