U.S. Department of Commerce
FILE - This April 5, 2020, photo shows an envelope containing a 2020 census letter mailed to a U.S. resident in Detroit. A group of Harvard researchers are coming out against the U.S. Census Bureau's use of a controversial privacy method on the numbers used for redrawing congressional and legislative districts, saying it doesn't produce data that are good enough for redistricting. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)
15 GOP governors urge release of Census redistricting data

By Adrian Sainz Jun. 22, 2021 05:07 PM EDT

US retail sales fell 1.3% in May, chip shortage dings autos

By Joseph Pisani Jun. 15, 2021 08:54 AM EDT
NEW YORK (AP) — Retail sales fell in May, dragged down by a decline in auto sales, likely due to fewer cars being made amid a pandemic-related shortage of...

FILE - In this Dec. 19, 2020 file photo, Shoppers wear a mask as they leave a department store in Vernon Hills, Ill. Americans spent less last month, partly due to bad weather in parts of the country that kept shoppers away from stores. Retail sales fell a seasonally adjusted 3% in February 2021 from the month before, the U.S. Commerce Department said Tuesday, March 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)
February retail sales fall 3% after soaring the month before

By Joseph Pisani Mar. 16, 2021 08:43 AM EDT

FILE - In this Dec. 19, 2020 file photo, Shoppers wear a mask as they leave a department store in Vernon Hills, Ill., The $600 stimulus checks got Americans shopping again. After three months of declines, retail sales soared a seasonally adjusted 5.3% in January from the month before, the U.S. Commerce Department said Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)
US retail sales jumps 5.3%, thanks to $600 stimulus checks

By Joseph Pisani Feb. 17, 2021 09:14 AM EST

A sale sign is displayed near the entrance of a Hallmark store Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. Retail sales fell for a third straight month, as a surge in virus cases kept people away from stores and restaurants during the holiday shopping season. The report released Friday is yet another sign that the pandemic is slowing the U.S. economy. Last month, the country lost jobs for the first time since the spring.(AP Photo/John Raoux)
U.S. retail sales fell in December for 3rd straight month

By Joseph Pisani Jan. 15, 2021 08:45 AM EST

A parking lot nearly empty of the cars of holiday shoppers is shown at the Mall of New Hampshire, Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020, in Manchester, N.H. Retail sales fell 1.1% in November, the biggest drop in seven months, a sign that Americans held back on spending during the start of the holiday shopping season. The U.S. Commerce Department also revised October’s number, saying on Wednesday that retail sales actually fell 0.1% that month, instead of rising 0.3% as it previously reported. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Retail sales fell 1.1% in November, biggest drop in 7 months

By Joseph Pisani Dec. 16, 2020 08:56 AM EST

FILE - In this March 19, 2020, file photo, is an envelope containing a 2020 census letter mailed to a U.S. resident. A complete count of Montana’s households could come with a big reward: a second seat in Congress and millions of federal dollars annually. But the 2020 census deadline remains in flux, making it uncertain if census takers will finish counting the vast, rural state. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
Trump lawyer: Census could be done if not for court meddling

By Mike Schneider Oct. 05, 2020 10:35 AM EDT

Passers-by examine a storefront window, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, in Boston's fashionable Newbury Street shopping district. The U.S. Commerce Department said Wednesday that retail sales rose 0.6% last month, the fourth straight month of growth. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Retail sales rise for 4th straight month as growth slows

By Joseph Pisani Sep. 16, 2020 08:43 AM EDT

Officials: School laptops held up ahead of years' start

By Sophia Tulp Aug. 04, 2020 02:03 PM EDT
About 4,000 new laptop computers bound for an Alabama school district were held up over issues with manufacturers, weeks before the school year was set to...

Commerce Department IG seeks info on 2 Census hirings

By Adrian Sainz Jul. 08, 2020 07:02 PM EDT
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The U.S. Department of Commerce's inspector general has asked the Census Bureau for information related to the hiring process of two men...

In this aerial photo, worshippers observing social distancing guidelines to protect against coronavirus, attend Friday prayers, outside the Camlica Mosque, the largest mosque in Asia Minor, in Istanbul, Friday, May 29, 2020. The mosque with a capacity under normal circumstances to house 60,000 worshippers, held its first communal Friday prayers in 74 days after the government re-opened some mosques as part of its plans to relax measures in place to fight the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. (Ali Aksoyer/DHA via AP)
Trump takes aim at WHO as US economic outlook worsens

By Martin Crutsinger And Dan Sewell May. 29, 2020 02:50 AM EDT