The recovery may also be hurt by what Congress chose not to do. Looming largest is negotiators’ inability to reach agreement on hundreds of billions of dollars to patch holes in state and local budgets that have cost 1.3 million jobs since March. Forecasters say the shortfall in revenue makes continuing layoffs likely. The delay took a toll on the recovery, hurting both households and business owners. Layoffs are rising, retail sales are falling and the surge in virus cases has led many states to reimpose restrictions on business and consumer activity.

Source: New York Times December 21, 2020 00:22 UTC