Personal income
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

Daily wage laborers wait to be employed for the day, on a street in Mumbai, India, Friday, June 11, 2021. India’s economy was on the cusp of recovery from the first pandemic shock when a new wave of infections swept the country, infecting millions, killing hundreds of thousands and forcing many people to stay home. Cases are now tapering off, but prospects for many Indians are drastically worse as salaried jobs vanish, incomes shrink and inequality is rising. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Pandemic relapse spells trouble for India's middle class

By Krutika Pathi Jun. 12, 2021 12:55 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 consumers boosted spending in April as inflation surged

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

FILE—In this file photo from May 5, 2021, a truck passes a sign showing a need to hire laborers outside a concrete products company in Evans City, Pa. Pennsylvania will resume work search requirements in July for hundreds of thousands of people receiving unemployment compensation, a top Wolf administration official said Monday, May 24, 2021. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)
More jobless getting aid than in past even as cutoffs loom

By Christopher Rugaber May. 27, 2021 08:37 AM EDT

Alabama jobless rate drops to 3.6%, wages rise

May. 21, 2021 09:35 AM EDT
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama's unemployment rate dropped to 3.6% last month, and a hiring surging prompted by renewed business activity as the pandemic...

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 hiring sign shows in Wheeling, Ill., Sunday, March 21, 2021. The number of Americans applying for unemployment aid fell last week to 547,000, a new low since the pandemic struck and a further encouraging sign that layoffs are slowing on the strength of an improving job market. The Labor Department said Thursday, April 22, that applications declined 39,000 from a revised 586,000 a week earlier. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
US wages and benefits jump as economy reopens

By Christopher Rugaber Apr. 30, 2021 09:04 AM EDT

House GOP spending plan includes 2% personal income tax cut

By Andrew Welsh-Huggins Apr. 13, 2021 04:59 PM EDT
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohioans would receive a 2% personal income tax cut and the state would fund schools in a more equitable fashion under the latest version...

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

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 - In this Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, file photo, passers-by examine a storefront window in Boston's fashionable Newbury Street shopping district. U.S. consumer confidence dipped slightly in October as a new wave of coronavirus cases began across the country. The Conference Board reported Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020, that its consumer confidence index fell to a reading of 100.9, from 101.8 in September. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Consumer confidence rises for second straight month

By Matt Ott Feb. 23, 2021 10:14 AM EST

A sales associate helps customers as they consider the purchase of a big-screen television at a Costco warehouse on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020, in Sheridan, Colo. U.S. consumer confidence fell to a reading of 96.1 in November as rising coronavirus cases pushed Americans’ confidence down to the lowest level since August. The Conference Board said the November reading represented a drop from a revised 101.4 in October. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
US consumer confidence rebounds in January

By Martin Crutsinger Jan. 26, 2021 11:13 AM EST

FILE - A woman carries shopping bags, Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020, in New York. U.S. consumer spending fell 0.4% in November, the first decline since April, as Americans confronted a newly resurgent virus. The Commerce Department reported Wednesday, Dec. 23, that the November decline followed a 0.3% gain in October and even bigger increases starting in May as the country emerged from a pandemic lockdown that had been imposed to try to stop the spread of the virus. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
Consumer spending drops 0.4%, first decline since April

By Martin Crutsinger Dec. 23, 2020 08:50 AM EST

A passer-by walks past a store closing sign, right, in the window of a department store, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020, in Boston. Americans may feel whiplashed by a report Thursday, Oct. 29, on the economy's growth this summer, when an explosive rebound followed an epic collapse. The government will likely estimate that the economy grew faster on an annualized basis last quarter than in any such period since record-keeping began in 1947.(AP Photo/Steven Senne)
US consumer spending rose a moderate 1.4% in September

By Martin Crutsinger Oct. 30, 2020 08:44 AM EDT

President Donald Trump stands on the balcony outside of the Blue Room as returns to the White House Monday, Oct. 5, 2020, in Washington, after leaving Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, in Bethesda, Md. A federal appeals court says Trump's accountant must turn over his tax records to a New York state prosecutor. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan ruled Wednesday, Oct. 7. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Bleak outlook without stimulus: More layoffs, anemic growth

By Christopher Rugaber Oct. 07, 2020 04:03 PM EDT

A woman carries a shopping bag while walking past a cosmetics store, right, near Faneuil Hall, behind left, Monday, Sept. 28, 2020, in Boston. U.S. consumer spending slowed in August while personal incomes fell, reflecting the expiration of the $600 weekly benefit for the unemployed. The Commerce Department reported Thursday, Oct. 1 that spending grew by just 1%, the weakest showing since spending actually fell 12.7% in April after the coronavirus pandemic shut down large parts of the economy. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Consumer spending gains slow to 1% in August

By Martin Crutsinger Oct. 01, 2020 09:24 AM EDT

Vehicles drive past a now hiring sign as they enter a parking lot for a Home Depot store location, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020, in Boston. The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits declined last week to a still-high 837,000, evidence that the economy is struggling to sustain a tentative recovery that began this summer. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
US layoffs remain elevated as incomes and spending weaken

By Christopher Rugaber Oct. 01, 2020 06:57 AM EDT

The Wall Street street sign is framed by a giant American flag hanging on the New York Stock Exchange, in a Monday, Sept. 21, 2020 file photo. Stocks are opening higher on Wall Street, recovering after their first four-week losing streak in more than a year. A burst of corporate deals helped give investors confidence to put money back in the market, and the S&P 500 rose 1.4% in the early going Monday, Sept. 28, 2020. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
Healthy US economy failed to narrow racial gaps in 2019

By Christopher Rugaber Sep. 28, 2020 12:19 PM EDT

FILE - In this Aug. 11, 2020 file photo, shoppers walk through the Valley Mall in Halfway, Md. U.S. consumer confidence fell for second straight month in August as a resurgence of virus cases in many parts of the country heightened pessimism about the economy. (Colleen McGrath/The Herald-Mail via AP, File)
US consumer spending rose a moderate 1.9% in July

By Martin Crutsinger Aug. 28, 2020 08:40 AM EDT

FILE - In this June 17, 2020 file photo, a sign advertises a sale at an H&M store along Lincoln Road Mall in Miami Beach, Fla. U.S. consumer confidence had a sharp drop in July to a reading of 92.6 as coronavirus cases in many parts of the country began rising again. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File
US consumer spending up 5.6%, but virus could stall gains

By Martin Crutsinger Jul. 31, 2020 08:37 AM EDT