Insights & Understanding

Retail sales and food services jumped 17.7 percent in May, beating estimates of 8 percent growth. The strong rebound follows sharp declines the previous month created by social distancing.

The S&P 500 dropped 4.7 percent last week on concerns the uptick in new coronavirus cases would persist and slow the economic rally.

The jobs market rallied back far sooner and stronger than expected. The U.S. economy created 2.5 million new jobs in May. Economists had projected a loss of 7 million jobs, so the surprise was massive.

Coronavirus actions and reactions continued to swing economic data in the United States. Consumer spending dropped 13.6 percent in April.

The loosening of lock downs and falling virus cases encouraged modest increases in economic activity.

The U.S. jobs report confirmed what was already known: millions of Americans are losing their jobs.

Losing your job can be financially devastating, but there are ways you can handle layoffs. Budgeting, tracking spending and taking care of unemployment are the first steps.

Economic news indicated the economic damage from COVID-19 continues to grow.

Leaders around the world announced steps to open up their economies by gradually reducing social distancing as the global economy continued to struggle.

Similarly to last week, investors had to weigh progress fighting COVID-19 and what that means for the future.