Relief checks 2023 | Summary news 7 April
US Employment and Financial News: Latest Updates
Headlines: Friday 7 April, 2023
- US added 236,000 jobs in March, leading to a small decrease in the unemployment rate to 3.5 percent
- Payroll in theretail sector has fallen by 15,000 workers over the last year
- Millions of dollars in SNAP benefits have been stolen, what to do if this happens to you
- Weekly first-time jobless claims drop 18,000 to 228,000
- Jobs openings decreased in February, still 1.7 jobs for every unemployed worker
- Over 3 million layoffs in the US this year, which sectors have seen the highest job cuts?
- Social Security and Medicare Trustees warn of respective funds depleted by 2033 and 2031
- Experts differ in their opinion over whether mortgage rates will increase or fall vary widely
- Various states will continue to issueinflation relief checks and generous tax refunds in April
- Social Security April payment schedule: when can you expect your payment?
- No Supplemental Security Income checks will be sent in April;instead, the April payment was made on 31 March
- IRS offers a tax credit to filers with dependents in other countries
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Month after month, the Social Security Administration (SSA) sends payments to certain beneficiaries, including retired workers. They must meet certain criteria to claim their checks, such as having a Social Security number (SSN), certain earnings, and credits.
Throughout one’s working life, a worker accumulates a record of earnings. SSA relies on the total yearly amount of a worker’s earnings to calculate the credits you need to claim payments. In 2023, the amount of earnings needed for 1 credit is $1,640.
According to the SSA web portal, a worker can accumulate a maximum of 4 credits per year. Generally, a worker must accumulate about 40 credits to receive any benefits, that is, around 10 years of work, but does time working abroad also count?
In recent months, the amount of scams defrauding SNAP beneficiaries out of their benefits has increased rapidly. Millions of dollars have been stolen, and some beneficiaries have reported seeing their benefits stolen on more than one occasion within a period of nine months.
The federal government approved a measure to allow states to use federal funds to reimburse those who saw their balance cleaned by scammers. Which states are offering support? Read our full coverage for details on what you should do if you find yourself in this position.
The announcement of major layoffs from large corporations, coupled with the various bank collapses seen over the last six months, has generated a level of economic uncertainty in the US economy not seen in over a decade. Such conditions create challenges in evaluating the impact of Federal Reserve’s rate increases on the economy broadly and the labor market specifically.
In March, nearly a year after the Federal Reserve began increasing interest rates, the national unemployment rate is hovering at around 3.5 percent. Last month the economy added 236,000 jobs, which was much closer to what had been projected by economists, compared to January and February, where reality blew past the figures expected.
Read more on how this complex relationship impacts the purchasing power of workers in our full coverage.
White House responds to the March Unemployment Report
This is a good jobs report for hard-working Americans. Today’s report shows that we continue to face economic challenges from a position of strength, with the economy adding 236,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate at 3.5%. My economic agenda has powered an historic economic recovery. We’ve created 12.6 million jobs since I took office. The unemployment rate is close to the lowest it has been in more than 50 years and a record low for African Americans. Thanks to the policies we have put in place, the recovery is creating good jobs that you can raise a family on, which is pulling more Americans into the labor force. In fact, the share of working age Americans in the labor force is at a 15 year high.
Last month, the US economy gained 236,000 jobs, leading the national unemployment rate to fall by 0.1 percent to 3.5 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
The labor force participation rate, which represents the ratio of people who are of working age and have a job, rose slightly to 62.6 from 62.5 in February.Over the last year, this figure has increased by around a third of a percent.
Check out our full coverage for a look at the industries and sectors that have seen the greatest gains and losses since January and over the last year.
In recent years, the US economy has seen two major recessions, both of which drove the unemployment rate into the double digits which hadn’t happened since 1982. However, those recessions pale in comparison to the Great Depression.
Upon filing their taxes, many filers in the United States receive a refund. Filing as soon as possible is the best way to make sure your return is processed promptly, because as time goes on, more people send their returns which can create processing delays; at the IRS tax returns are processed on a first-come-first-served basis.
Typically the IRS is able to distribute a tax refund within twenty-one days so long as the return is filed electronically. Those who file with paper may have to wait up to six months to receive their refund.
Read more in our full coverage on how to track your refund using the IRS' own online tool.
The winter of 2022-23 has seen a number of natural disasters beset parts of the nation from coast to coast. The severe weather events have brought torrential rains and flooding to California, snowstorms to New York and tornadoes in the Deep South prompting the IRS to provide filing extensions to taxpayers in areas with disaster declarations by FEMA.
Extensions for the affected areas range from 15 May to 16 October 2023. The IRS will automatically identify the taxpayers who are in those areas and apply filing and payment relief. But they will still need to indicate on their tax forms which natural disaster applies when claiming a loss.
31 million families qualified for EITC in 2022, a nearly $7,000 tax credit
The Earned Income Tax Credit is a refundable credit, meaning that once taxes owed are accounted for the remainder gets added onto a tax refund. The credit could be worth up to almost $7,000, but the amount varies depending on earnings and the size of the taxpayer's family.
Last year, the Internal Revenue Services reports that "as of December 2022, 31 million workers and families received about $64 billion in EITC. The average amount of EITC received nationwide was about $2,043."
Month after month, the Social Security Administration (SSA) issues millions of payments to all beneficiaries of the various programs they oversee, the vast majority of which are retirees.
The exact amount of the check each beneficiary receives depends on a number of factors, including the number of years worked, the beneficiary’s age at retirement, and, of course, the income that the person in question received throughout their working life. This year, the SSA has applied an 8.7 percent Cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to the benefit amounts, which has helped to boost the value of payments across the board. The COLA is calculated each year to help payments maintain their purchasing power.
Once the COLA was applied, the average retiree payments increased to about $1,830 a month, according to the SSA. However, some receive more than $4,000, which is twice the average. Let’s see who qualifies...
A new program called Pathway to Income Equity kicked off in Sonoma County in February which provides families with $500 payments each month.
Every month the agency publishes a report on the United States’ jobs market to track trends in employment across the country. The two key metrics to look out for are the number of nonfarm payroll jobs added and the updated unemployment rate.
The February jobs report blew past expectations with 311,000 jobs added, over fifty percent more than predicted. At the same time though, the unemployment rate ticked up slightly to 3.6%.
This month the number of new payrolls added is expected to be lower growing by 239,000 according to a Reuters survey of economists.
First-time unemployment claims drop by 18,000
The US Department of Labor released its weekly report on jobless claims on Thursday which showed a drop of 18,000 initial unemployment claims to 228,000 for the week ending 1 April. That was higher than the 200,000 that economists polled by Reuters had predicted.
In the United States, 41.2 million or twelve percent of people depend on Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, previously known as food stamps.
In late 2022, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that some beneficiaries had seen the value of the pre-paid debit cards distributed as a part of SNAP stolen by scammers. The exact scale of this fraud remains unknown, but the fact that vulnerable people have seen much-needed benefits stolen and, to this point, left without few options is extremely concerning.
Read our full coverage for details on how the benefits are being stolen and which states are offering relief to these victims.
Mortgage rates continue to fall
Mortgage rates, while still over double historic lows before the Federal Reserve began aggressive monetary tightening, dropped for a fourth week in a row with the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate inching down to 6.28% for the week ending 6 April..
Federal Reserve officials point to "greater headwinds" heading towards the US economy
This is an especially challenging time to be an economic analyst or policymaker. Recent developments in the banking sector have added to existing uncertainties about recovery from the pandemic shock and developments abroad. In that context, the economic and policy outlook needs to balance data dependence with forward-looking analysis. Recent data show greater momentum in inflation and economic activity, but recent banking developments may suggest greater headwinds for financial conditions and the economy going forward.
Which states have the highest unemployment rate?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that Nevada (5.5 percent) led the country in terms of unemployment. Oregon came in second place at 4.7 percent.
The lowest rates recorded in February 2023 were seen in North Dakota and South Dakota (2.1 percent), Nebraska (2.3 percent), Montana, and Utah (2.4 percent).
The average unemployment rate in the US in February stood at 3.6 percent and in February seventeen states had levels lower than seen nationally.
US jobs report due out today, slowing growth expected
Investors are anxiously awaiting the release of the Labor Department March 2023 jobs report on Friday. The data will help them infer what the Federal Reserve’s policy on future rate hikes may be when they meet in May. Over the past 12 months policymakers have voted to raise interest rates by nearly 500 basis points and it appears they are beginning to have their intended consequences.
The number of job openings fell to its lowest level in almost two years, as hiring in the private sector slows. But the labor market remains tight with 1.7 jobs available for ever unemployed worker. Additionally, manufacturing activity approached a three-year low in March.
Economists are forecasting the US economy added 239,000 new payrolls last month according to a survey by Reuters a slowdown from 311,000 in February. Wage growth, which is being closely watched by the Fed, is expected to come in at 4.3%, the slowest pace in nearly two years.
Welcome to AS USA's live blog on inflation relief and financial news
Throughout the day we'll bring you the latest news on measures to provide inflation relief, Social Security, 2023 tax season, interest rates, the housing market and more.
As the national tax filing date approaches, we will be providing you with information from the IRS on how to preventhiccups during processing and the distribution of your refund.
Today the Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the March Unemployment Report. This information will provide further insights into how rate hikes from the Federal Reserve are impacting the labor market.