Economy

More than 40,000 people filed a jobless claim to receive unemployment compensation in the first four days of this week, the Alabama Department of Labor says, more than quadrupling the number of claims filed last week when layoffs began hitting the state. Alabama Department of Labor spokesperson, Tara Hutchison, said Thursday that 40,628 people filed … Continued

Communities are coming together to provide some relief to service industry workers who are unable to work due to restaurant and bar closures during the COVID-19 outbreak. Last week, Gov. Kay Ivey issued statewide shutdowns of all dine-in restaurants and bars in an attempt to increase social distancing as the COVID-19 epidemic continues to grow … Continued

Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson said Monday that Mobile had its third confirmed case of COVID-19. “Tonight we had our third confirmed case of COVID-19 in Mobile County,’” Stimpson said. “My top priority remains your health and safety, and my team is fully engaged in the effort to protect you from this threat to our community.” … Continued

Early Wednesday morning, the White House and Senate leaders finally reached a deal on a massive stimulus package they are hoping can keep the American economy from falling into a deep recession due to the government-imposed economic shutdown to deal with the growing coronavirus threat. The final version of the Senate bill comes with a … Continued

Tuesday, the Child Trafficking Solutions Project and the Children’s Policy Cooperative of Jefferson County issued a statement warning that there is a noticeable increase in Craigslist postings for possible human trafficking purposes due to the coronavirus economic impact. “If you see any such postings on Craigslist or any social media sites, please screen shot and … Continued

Late Friday afternoon, former state Senator and First congressional district candidate Bill Hightower (R-Mobile) participated in a call with President Donald J. Trump (R), Labor Secretary Scalia, and Larry Kudlow of the National Economic Council of Advisors to discuss the Trump Administration’s efforts to support small businesses during the government ordered economic shutdown to prevent … Continued

U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, D-Alabama, said he voted Sunday evening against moving forward a $1.6 trillion emergency rescue package during a procedural vote because it doesn’t go far enough to help working people who need relief the most. “We need a strong, bipartisan package that directly assists our workers, our health care providers, and vulnerable … Continued

There is not enough help coming fast enough to the people struggling the most.  That was the message from Alabama House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, who was asked on the “Alabama Politics This Week” podcast about the efforts of Alabama’s state government to address the COVID-19 pandemic.  [visual-link-preview encoded=”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”] “If you’ve never been poor, you … Continued

U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, D-Alabama, and Congresswoman Terri Sewell, D-Selma, sent a letter urging Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey and her administration to extend unemployment benefits for Alabamians impacted by the spread of the novel coronavirus, which causes COVID-19. “As our state and nation responds to the COVID-19 pandemic by encouraging ‘social distancing,’ many workers in … Continued