The relief bill, passed Monday night, will reinstate supplemental unemployment benefits of $300 per week and extend eviction protections through the end of January. The legislation also allocates another $284 billion to the Paycheck Protection Program.
Economy
Get the latest on jobs, business, growth, and policy shaping the state’s economy with in-depth reporting from The Texas Tribune.
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Criminal Justice
The pandemic, protests and the polls: Texas’ 2020 in photos
Photojournalists captured the unforgettable images that defined an epic year in Texas as people grappled with the pandemic, protested police brutality and made their voices heard at the polls.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Analyzing 2020: The pandemic recession in Texas
We’ve selected some columns from 2020 on the recession and the budget.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Texas unemployment rate rises to 8.1% in November
The latest unemployment rate will be a crucial data point for the Texas Legislature, which will convene in January.
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Coronavirus in Texas
An eviction moratorium expires at the end of the month, but thousands of Texans are still not able to afford rent
Communities of color are especially struggling to keep their homes. While more than half of white Texans are highly confident in being able to pay rent, only 21% of Black Texans and 14% of Hispanic Texans say the same.
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Coronavirus in Texas
More than 315,000 gig workers and independent contractors in Texas will lose unemployment relief without action from Congress
Although normally ineligible, gig workers and independent contractors qualified for unemployment aid during the pandemic. The assistance is set to expire at the end of December.
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Texas Legislature 2021
GOP megadonor Sheldon Adelson readies 2021 lobbying blitz to bring casinos to Texas
Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands has built a stable of high-powered lobbyists for the session, which starts in January, and the company acknowledged Tuesday that it is serious about bringing casinos to Texas.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Texas food banks may be less equipped to help hungry households in the new year
More than 2.5 million households in Texas didn’t always have enough food to eat in November, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. About two-thirds of those households were either Hispanic or Black.
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COVID-19 Recession in Texas
No job, no car and living on $85 a week: Some Texans are facing economic crisis months into the pandemic
Jessica Tyson, an out-of-work hairdresser in Texarkana, says Congress cannot delay passing a second stimulus package. Listen in the weekend edition of The Brief podcast.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Federal loans helped more than 400,000 Texas companies retain workers during the pandemic, new data shows
Despite details released from the Paycheck Protection Program this week, a full snapshot of the program remains unclear.