Daily Dime

Nearly 1.4 million Americans filed for unemployment last week, joining the 16 million others who were unemployed at the start of the year. The joblessness unleashed by the Covid-19 pandemic has put unprecedented strain on state unemployment insurance systems, which are ill-equipped to deal with deep economic downturns.… Read more...

Joe Biden assumed the presidency on Wednesday at a moment of historic challenge. The coronavirus pandemic, spiraling joblessness, deep and persistent racial and economic inequity, a warming climate and teetering institutions of democracy will frame the work of his administration.… Read more...

Louisiana’s slow economic recovery from Covid-19 will continue and leave the state with $228 million less to spend in next year’s state budget, a forecasting panel determined on Tuesday. But state economists told the Revenue Estimating Conference that the ultimate size of the budget gap is unclear, due largely to the prospect of additional federal relief from the incoming Biden administration.… Read more...

President-elect Joe Biden’s plans to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour – outlined as part of his economic stimulus plan last week – would be especially meaningful in Louisiana, where nearly half of all workers currently are paid below that threshold.… Read more...