Russ discusses why consumption has held up, and how the pandemic has accelerated long-term trends.
It is hard to imagine a more rapid, devastating and pervasive blow to U.S. households than the pandemic. Abruptly shutting most economic activity has led to a record high unemployment rate. In actuality, the numbers are even worse than the headline rate suggests given a record drop in labor force participation and rise in the number of furloughed employees.
But while the labor market will take years to fully heal, households are demonstrating surprising resiliency. Auto sales rebounded sharply in