![Jerome Powell, the chairman of the United States Federal Reserve, said that the recovery in the US remains uneven and incomplete, with much of the burden still falling on lower-income workers [File: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/powell.jpg?resize=570%2C380)
The US Federal Reserve chairman expressed concern about an ‘uneven’ US and global recovery at an IMF debate on Thursday.
Unemployment
![If you include supplemental federal programmes that were established last year to help the unemployed endure the COVID-19 crisis, a total of 18.2 million people are receiving some form of jobless aid the week of March 20 in the United States [File: Nam Y. Huh/AP Photo]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/hiring.jpg?resize=570%2C380)
The US Department of Labor said Thursday that applications for benefits increased by 16,000 from 728,000 a week earlier.
![International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Wednesday that while the global economy is on better footing than last year, looming uncertainties and inequalities pose a real risk to recoveries [File: Mike Theiler/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/kristina.jpg?resize=570%2C380)
Both the IMF managing director and World Bank president warned of growing global economic inequality on Wednesday.
![Amid rising pressure from small businesses, Amazon has in recent years sought to portray itself as a friend to small merchants, pitching stories of successful sellers who rely on its plaform in its ad campaigns [File: Bloomberg]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/aazon.jpg?resize=570%2C380)
‘As one bookseller said to me, ‘It says COVID on the death certificate, but the underlying condition was Amazon.”
![United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Monday that a minimum global corporate tax rate will help ensure that everyone pays their share in funding public projects, but critics of the proposal argue that the burden of higher taxes will fall mostly on workers and only drive away corporations and investment [File: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/yellen.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
The US Treasury secretary says a global minimum corporate tax rate will ensure firms pay up, but critics voice concerns.
![Under the programme employees will get the same salaries despite putting in fewer hours [File: Paul Hanna/Bloomberg]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/370619864.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
Spain has allocated money for a three-year experiment to compensate businesses that choose a shortened week.
![President Joe Biden's proposal stresses the creation of new union jobs, employment through a Civilian Climate Corps, the construction of affordable housing, and efforts to clean up abandoned mines or cap old oil wells [File: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/oil-1.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
Biden’s $2.25 trillion American Jobs Plan aims to update the United States’ physical and technological infrastructure.
![United States consumer confidence hit its highest level since the coronavirus pandemic began in March, and easing COVID-19 restrictions led many firms to rehire workers in a spring boom [File: Rogelio V Solis/AP Photo]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/AP21089456789312.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
The reopening of businesses with higher capacity limits have helped firms rehire, and consumer confidence is high.
![The unexpected increase in claims underscores the choppy nature of the jobs market recovery and indicates it will take time to recoup the millions of jobs lost due to the coronavirus pandemic [File: George Frey/Bloomberg]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/370590395.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
New claims for state unemployment benefits in the US rose by 61,000 for the week ending March 27.
![A third of employers surveyed in the December-January poll say home working boosted productivity, up from 28 percent in June [File: Stefan Wermuth/Bloomberg]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/370573518.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
Majority of firms surveyed are developing a hybrid work model in which staff spend only some of their time in offices.
![A growing number of Indian states are forcing companies to hire locally, setting up internal trade barriers that could further hinder growth in Asia’s third-biggest economy [File: Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/35a6fed44fa5430ab6a3fd73a8b193b8_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
Millions of jobs were lost during last year’s lockdown, dealing a blow to Modi’s promise of creating employment.
![United States President Joe Biden’s proposals face significant changes, given the 50-50 split in the Senate and the Democrats’ narrow majority in the House, which gives extra power to individual lawmakers to shape the final legislation [File: Stefani Reynolds/CNP/Bloomberg]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/biden2.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
US President Joe Biden’s $2.25 trillion infrastructure-centred plan relies on higher corporate taxes for its funding.
![Easing COVID-related business restrictions and warmer weather in many parts of the United States have contributed to an uptick in hiring, especially in the leisure and hospitality businesses, including restaurants [File: Mary Altaffer/AP Photo]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/AP21085696203755.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
Company payrolls increased by 517,000 in March, according to ADP Research Institute data.
![The United Arab Emirates, along with Togo, Serbia, Lithuania and Timor-Leste, are at the top of the list for making the most progress in narrowing the gender gap, according to a new report from the World Economic Forum [File: Christopher Pike/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/covid-1.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
Women have to wait 135.6 years – up from 99.5 in 2020 – to be on equal footing with men, the World Economic Forum warns.
