Very few events in history have has as much an effect on human life and the economy as the COVID-19 pandemic. When the virus first emerged, public health authorities and government leaders enacted policies to curtail transmission and consumers reduced their activity in public spaces such as restaurants. Schools switched to online learning. Offices emptied as employers had many employees work from home. Travel halted abruptly, leading to hotel closures and cancelled flights. Restaurants shifted to take-out only or closed completely. Millions across the U.S. became unemployed in the largest mass layoff since the Great Depression. Disproportionate effects were felt especially in low-wage jobs, affecting many women and people of color.

As people lost jobs, the hit to their finances affected their ability to pay for housing. Low-income workers are more likely to be renters than to own a home. Thus, a widescale economic shutdown that disproportionately affected low-wage...

While COVID-19 continues to cause disruptions in coin circulation, Americans can take simple steps to help alleviate the issue.

According to a statement from the U.S. Coin Task force, the economy isn’t experiencing a coin shortage — $48.5 billion in coins are in circulation. Much of it, however, is dormant inside American households. Returning just a fraction of that currency will greatly improve the circulation problem, making a meaningful difference for millions of Americans and businesses that rely on coins to support cash transactions, the statement said.

Banks and retailers can read the task force’s recommendations and guidance on the issue External Linkhere. The U.S. Coin Task force encourages the public to help improve coin circulation with the following steps:

Faster payments, which include instant payments, continue to be a key topic of consideration and curiosity around the world. As progress continues here in the United States, now is the time to brush up on your instant payments knowledge.

Wondering where to start? One central resource is the Federal Reserve’s ongoing instant payments education series (Off-site). Explore the most recent articles in the series below, ranging from the fundamentals of instant payments to a closer look at key benefits, use cases and trends:

The Kansas City Fed's quarterly economic databooks provide summaries for the Tenth Federal Reserve District states including Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Wyoming. The databooks provide current economic indicators to help monitor trends and allow comparison of past information. These indicators include: Gross Domestic Product (GDP); inflation; employment; employment by industry; county and state unemployment; personal income; home prices; housing indicators; manufacturing; oil, gas and coal production; agriculture; and exports.

Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics & Haver Analytics

2021 Databooks

2020 Databooks

2019 Databooks

2018 Databooks

Although studies consistently find that credit cards are the most costly payment method for merchants to accept in person, research has been mixed on the relative acceptance costs of debit cards versus cash. To accept debit cards, for example, merchants pay interchange fees for processing card transactions among other costs—and despite regulation in the United States to cap interchange fees, some U.S. merchants still consider these fees too high. Cash transactions also impose costs: merchants may pay bank fees to deposit cash or hire employees to count and sort it.

Fumiko Hayashi examines which of two payment methods—cash or debit cards—is more costly for merchants to accept in person in six countries: the United States, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. She finds that debit cards have been more costly for merchants to accept than cash in the United States in recent years, while cash has become more costly to accept than debit...

The number of new small businesses in Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming increased in 2020, even as the COVID-19 pandemic caused overall economic activity to decline at historic rates. However, the small businesses in the Rocky Mountain region that remained open or were newly started were not the same type that typically drives significant job creation. Only recently has the number of small businesses that employ additional workers begun to recover.

The Kansas City Fed Labor Market Conditions Indicators (LMCI) suggest the level of activity continued to increase in July while momentum accelerated. The level of activity indicator increased by 0.07 in July from 0.68 to 0.75. This recent increase builds on a five-month period of especially strong growth, with the level of activity increasing 1.18 since its January reading of ?0.43. Meanwhile, the momentum indicator increased by 0.51 in July from 0.43 to 0.94. Both indicators remained above their longer-run averages in July.

These readings likely do not fully describe the state of the labor market at the end of July, as many of the input data series reflect conditions early in the month. In particular, the series do not include the effects of the surge in COVID-19 cases or the tightening of some states’ COVID-19 restrictions that occurred later in the month. For example, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Household Survey are from the reference period of...

To illustrate a topic highlighted during the Kansas City Fed’s Agricultural Symposium, Bank videographers Brett Smith and Kevin Wright traveled to Spencer Farms in Ottawa, Kansas to learn how technology affects productivity in agriculture.

Owner and operator Kevin Spencer, who runs Spencer Farms with his sons, Brad and Aaron, described the impact of technology in use today:

August 18, 2021

10 a.m. – 12 p.m. CT

About the Summit   The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in partnership with The Diversity & Inclusion Consortium will host the 2021 Diversity and Inclusion Summit: Allyship! From "Anti" to "Ally": A Story of Personal Transformation.

The purpose of the Diversity and Inclusion Summit is to convene D&I practitioners and champions for professional development dedicated to the exchange of concepts, insights and best practices in the field of diversity, equity and inclusion.  

Benefits of Attending By attending this summit, you will:

The Kansas City Fed Labor Market Conditions Indicators (LMCI) suggest the level of activity continued to increase in July while momentum accelerated. The level of activity indicator increased by 0.07 in July from 0.68 to 0.75. This recent increase builds on a five-month period of especially strong growth, with the level of activity increasing 1.18 since its January reading of ?0.43. Meanwhile, the momentum indicator increased by 0.51 in July from 0.43 to 0.94. Both indicators remained above their longer-run averages in July.

These readings likely do not fully describe the state of the labor market at the end of July, as many of the input data series reflect conditions early in the month. In particular, the series do not include the effects of the surge in COVID-19 cases or the tightening of some states’ COVID-19 restrictions that occurred later in the month. For example, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Household Survey are from the reference period of...