Ripple effects: The coronavirus battle and the world oil glut could cost cities, parishes and school boards in Louisiana anywhere from $404 million to $1.1 billion over two fiscal years, the state’s Legislative Auditor’s Office said Thursday. The losses are estimated for the current state fiscal year, which ends June 30, and for fiscal year 2021. The report lays out “optimistic” and “pessimistic” scenarios for the state’s recovery and the effects on local sales and property taxes and oil royalties. Read the full story.
Historic: The U.S. construction industry lost 975,000 jobs on net in April, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This was the largest recorded decrease in construction jobs since the government began tracking employment in 1939, despite construction remaining an essential industry in much of the nation through April. Nonresidential construction employment lost 560,500 jobs on net in April. Read the full analysis here.
Retail wreckage: J.C. Penney is preparing to file for bankruptcy protection as soon as next week with plans to permanently close about one-quarter of its roughly 850 stores, becoming the latest major U.S. retailer to succumb to fallout from the coronavirus outbreak, Reuters reports. A bankruptcy filing would cap a long decline for the iconic 118-year-old department store chain. Read the full story.
