It’s no surprise that consumer spending in the U.S. fell off a cliff in March. That’s when bars, concert halls, movie theaters and other nonessential businesses across much of the country shuttered to try to stem the spread of the new coronavirus.
With confirmed cases of COVID-19 — the disease caused by a novel coronavirus — on the rise, organizations worldwide are encouraging or mandating that their employees telework.
This article was updated on April 3 to reflect the employment situation summary released that day.
As Americans begin to practice social distancing in response to the coronavirus pandemic — staying home, teleworking in some cases — small businesses are already starting to feel the pinch.
Misinformation on social media was bad before the coronavirus pandemic, and it’s only gotten more harmful in the age of social distancing now that lives are on the line and millions of Americans are getting their daily dosage of human interaction and information solely from the virtual world.
Across news outlets and social media, many stories this past week have focused on panic buying — and officials pleading with people not to panic buy. Customers have stocked up on essentials, particularly toilet paper and hand sanitizer, out of fear that the coronavirus pandemic will deplete supermarket supply chains.
