Daily Busines Report: Friday, Jan, 24, 2025
Only 96 Schools Are Performing Better Than Before the Pandemic
by Jakob McWhinney
The tumult of the pandemic and the ensuing years of virtual instruction hit students hard. Across the country, learning loss was widespread and even when kids returned to in-person instruction, things didn’t just snap back to the way they were.
There are few places where learning loss is more evident than in test scores. At San Diego Unified, for example, that drop in test scores erased half a decade of steady gains in student performance. Even after years of halting progress, the district’s schools haven’t regained that lost ground. They’re far from the only ones – only about 13 percent of San Diego County schools are outperforming where they were in the 2018-19 school year. While students at many schools are doing better in either math or English than they were in 2018, of 740 San Diego County schools, only 96 were doing better in both, according to an analysis by Voice of San Diego. That eye-popping stat underscores just how sluggish of a recovery many students have experienced. And while some experts say the prospect of a swift recovery from the pandemic upheaval was always a long shot, others wonder whether educators should ditch the concept that they’re working toward a recovery at all.
Why Americans Are Still Unhappy with the Economy
by Milton Ezrati
Media responses to Washington’s latest jobs report are almost universally upbeat. The Wall Street Journal, for example, called the employment data “stronger than expected.” While such assessments are accurate, a closer look at the numbers reveals a more nuanced picture.
By one measure, the jobs market is historically strong. According to the Labor Department’s survey of businesses, some 256,000 employees were added to payrolls in December, with 2.2 million added cumulatively over the prior 12 months. While manufacturing employment dropped slightly, gains in retail, medical services, and other industries more than made up the difference. The Labor Department’s survey of individuals, however, paints a different picture. It found that total employment is up by 537,000 over the past 12 months—not bad, but barely one quarter the amount indicated by the payroll accounting. Additionally, the department reported that the number of people unable to find work had increased by nearly 600,000 in December.
Trump jumps back into California’s water wars with a pro-farmer decree
BY DAN WALTERS
Media responses to Washington’s latest jobs report are almost universally upbeat. The Wall Street Journal, for example, called the employment data “stronger than expected.” While such assessments are accurate, a closer look at the numbers reveals a more nuanced picture.
By one measure, the jobs market is historically strong. According to the Labor Department’s survey of businesses, some 256,000 employees were added to payrolls in December, with 2.2 million added cumulatively over the prior 12 months. While manufacturing employment dropped slightly, gains in retail, medical services, and other industries more than made up the difference.
The Labor Department’s survey of individuals, however, paints a different picture. It found that total employment is up by 537,000 over the past 12 months—not bad, but barely one quarter the amount indicated by the payroll accounting. Additionally, the department reported that the number of people unable to find work had increased by nearly 600,000 in December.