CNBC Economy

Almost 40% of unemployed workers have been out of a job for at least six months. That means many have entered a particularly risky period of joblessness.

The leisure and hospitality industry saw outsized job losses thanks to a torrent of layoffs at bars and restaurants.

The Biden administration's first monthly employment report showed that jobs increased by 49,000 in January and the unemployment rate fell to 6.3%.

January's employment picture appears to have improved over December, but how much so depends on the impact of the virus on the hospitality and leisure sector.

Mortgage rates fell for the first time in nearly a month, and that lit a fire under current borrowers who may have thought they missed the boat on refinancing.

New jobless claims totaled 779,000 last week, the lowest since late November and below the Dow Jones estimate for 830,000.

Homebuyers signed fewer contracts to buy existing homes in December, as record high prices and record low supply stood in the way of strong demand.

Companies added 174,000 new jobs in January, according to a report from payroll processing firm ADP.

Kaplan in a CNBC interview backed more spending across a variety of fronts as the economy tries to shake off the Covid-19 pandemic effects.

Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said Monday that he's not worried about overheating, though he does think growth could happen faster than many expect.

The CBO upgraded its U.S. economic outlook, saying growth will recover "rapidly" and the labor market will return to full strength quicker than first thought.

Full-year GDP declined 3.5%, the worst year for the U.S. since at least the end of World War II, as a pandemic-induced recession took hold in February.

Economists polled by Dow Jones had expected first-time claims to total 875,000 for last week.

Some market pros see the frenzied short squeezes in GameStop and other stocks as signs of a bubble brewing.

The central bank kept its foot to the floor in terms of the help it is providing for an economy that central bank officials say has slowed down.

This is a comparison of Wednesday's Federal Open Market Committee statement with the one issued after the Fed's previous policy-making meeting on Dec. 16.

Fed chairman Jerome Powell will try to avoid sounding hawkish in any way when he talks about the Fed's commitment to its easing policies.

Sharp gains in home prices and a slight rise in interest rates combined to weaken demand for mortgages last week.

Markets figure that as long as the Fed keeps pumping, then it's safe to keep buying.

"The consumer is coming back. I'm telling you, where we can do business, we are doing business," Tilman Fertitta told CNBC.