COVID-19 UPDATE
The recent surge in COVID-19 cases indicates that elected officials re-opened the economy too soon, that too many Americans are flaunting social distancing guidelines, and that the virus is likely to be around longer than we’d hoped. On July 14, the U.S. recorded nearly 59,000 new cases, up from 22,000 cases on June 14. Texas logged 10,745 cases that day, Houston nearly 2,600 cases. That’s a five fold increase over the month for the state and the metro area.
Business Closures
The popular website Yelp.com publishes crowd-sourced reviews on local restaurants, retailers, entertainment venues and personal services. Yelp reports that 177,000 U.S. business on its site were closed between March 1 and April 19. As of June 15, only 37,000 had reopened. In Houston, the pandemic forced the closure of 3,518 Yelp businesses, of which only 578 had re-opened by mid-June.
The Outlook
The current recession can no longer be seen as a brief shutdown in which Congress passes enough safety nets and stimulus packages to bridge the gap. The number of active business owners in the U.S. plummeted by 3.3 million or 22 percent in March and April.
Though the nation has recouped some of the jobs lost in March and April, there are still 16.6 million unemployed workers in the U.S.
HOUSTON EMPLOYMENT UPDATE
Metro Houston added 73,800 jobs in May, a record for any month. The jump came as Governor Greg Abbott issued orders reopening the state’s economy early in the month. Despite the surge, local employment remains 276,400 jobs below its February pre-COVID level. The largest job gains occurred in accommodation and food services, retail and health care. Mining and logging (energy), professional, scientific and technical services, other services, and government continued to lose jobs. Only finance and insurance has returned to its pre-COVID employment level.
Crude Oil
The closing spot price for West Texas Inter-mediate (WTI), the U.S. benchmark for light, sweet crude, averaged $39.22 per barrel the last week of June ’20, down 32.8 percent from $58.38 for the same period in ’19.
Home Sales
Houston realtors sold 9,238 single-family homes in June ’20, up 15.7 percent from 8,063 in June ’19. The average price for a single-family home sold in June was $319,881, down 0.6 percent from $321,884 a year earlier. The month ended with 11,610 pending sales, a 39.3 percent increase over June ’19.
Rig Count
Baker Hughes reports 258 drilling rigs working in the U.S. during the first week of July ’20. That’s down 700 rigs, or 73.1 percent, from the same week in July ’19.
Unemployment
Houston’s unemployment rate fell from 14.2 in April to 13.9 in May. It had been as low as 3.9 percent in February.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 20 November 2020
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Nov 24, 2020
The international economic news over the past week has been somewhat mixed. On the positive side, China’s October data showed ongoing growth in manufacturing and firming retail and service sector activity.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 20 August 2021
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Aug 24, 2021
The Wells Fargo Economics team notes in the Commentary that new COVID cases in New Zealand disrupted the Reserve Bank of New Zealand\'s plan to tighten monetary policy this week.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 20 December 2019
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Dec 21, 2019
President Trump became the third president in U.S. history to be impeached by the House, but removal by the Senate is highly unlikely. The House also passed the USMCA, which should be signed into law in early 2020.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 23 February 2024
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Feb 27, 2024
Stronger-than-expected inflation, underpinned by the mildly hawkish minutes from the January FOMC meeting, drove a move higher in mortgage rates.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 19 July 2024
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Jul 22, 2024
Retail sales, housing starts and industrial production all surprised to the upside this week.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 16 July 2021
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Jul 30, 2021
Visiting from Texas, it felt more like fall, which like the Texas cold-snap last February just goes to show that it’s a case of what you’re used to.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 24 July 2020
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Jul 25, 2020
Initial jobless claims rose to just over 1.4 million for the week ending July 18. Continuing claims fell to about 16.2 million. Initial claims edging higher suggests that the resurgence of COVID-19 may be taking a toll on the labor market recovery.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 22 November 2019
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Nov 23, 2019
Minutes from the October FOMC meeting indicated the Fed is content to remain on the sidelines for the rest of this year as the looser financial conditions resulting from rate cuts at three consecutive meetings feed through to the economy.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 10 January 2020
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Jan 11, 2020
The week began amid rising tensions carrying over from the U.S. killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani last Friday.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 02 April 2021
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Apr 08, 2021
Increased vaccinations and an improving public health position led to an easing of restrictions and pickup in activity across the country in March.