The Pandemic Economy in 7 Numbers

<p>There are several figures that tell the story of the American economy right now.</p><p>Some are surprisingly positive — the housing market is booming — while others paint a more dire picture.</p><p>Using seven key numbers, we look at the sectors that have been affected most profoundly and consider what the path to recovery might look like.</p><p><br /></p><p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/ben-casselman" target="_blank"><strong>Ben Casselman</strong></a>,<strong> </strong>who covers economics and business for The New York Times, walks us through the pandemic’s impact.</p><p><br /></p><p>We want to hear from you. Fill out our survey about The Daily and other shows at: <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedailysurvey?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank">nytimes.com/thedailysurvey</a></p><p><br /></p><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank">nytimes.com/thedaily </a></p><p><br /></p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>Here is<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/03/business/economic-snapshot-election.html" target="_blank"> Ben’s snapshot of the key data points</a> for understanding the impact of the pandemic on the economy.</li><li>The expiration of<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/11/business/economy/unemployment-benefits-cutoff.html" target="_blank"> two critical programs at the end of this year</a> could leave millions of Americans vulnerable and short-circuit the nation’s precarious recovery.</li></ul>