Swift action by the US government has helped shield households and businesses from the immediate economic shock of the Covid-19 pandemic. Continuing this exceptional support would help strengthen the recovery, share the benefits across society, and reduce the risk of long-term scars, the OECD Economic Survey of the United States says.

OECD composite leading indicators (CLIs) point to a significant improvement from the unprecedented slowdown reached at the height of the current crisis in April, though the situation remains fragile as uncertainty persists around the possibility of future lockdowns.

The Covid-19 pandemic is turning into a jobs crisis that is far worse than the 2008 crisis. Women, young people and low income earners are being hit the hardest, according to OECD Employment Outlook 2020. The OECD unemployment rate edged down to 8.4% in May 2020, after soaring by 3 percentage points in April. In February it stood at 5.2%.

Unemployment has soared in the OECD area since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Policymakers have taken action to safeguard workers and firms, but as the coronavirus crisis continues, more targeted action will be needed to stop the jobs crisis from becoming a social crisis. Watch our video.

Support policies by some 54 OECD, EU and emerging countries provided on average USD 536 billion (EUR 469 billion) per year of direct support to farmers in 2017-2019. Such policies can harm consumers, especially poor ones, and widen income gaps between small and large farms, according to the latest Agricultural Policy Monitoring and Evaluation.