COVID-19’s Early Economic Impact on US Cities , Trump’s Fragile North Korea Policy, and More

April 30, 2020

New numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shed light on how the spread of COVID-19 began to affect city economies through mid-March. In an analysis of the data, Alan Beurbe highlights key labor market trends and provides data on unemployment and the number of jobs in 191 different metropolitan areas.

President Donald Trump side-stepped his own diplomatic infrastructure to negotiate with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. Jung Pak writes that with Kim’s absence, it is easier to see how fragile Trump’s approach to North Korea really is and how ill-equipped his administration is to handle any kind of power transition if Kim dies.

With the coronavirus pandemic, digital networks that deliver the internet have become critical to economic activity and our daily lives. Former FCC Chair Tom Wheeler argues that these companies are too important to be left to make the rules governing their behavior themselves.

A note on the Brookings response to COVID-19:

The Brookings Institution campus in Washington, D.C. will be closed through at least June 1. For more information, read our full guidance here. As Brookings experts continue to assess the global impacts of COVID-19, read the latest analysis and policy recommendations at our coronavirus page or stay up to date with our coronavirus newsletter.

The conclusions and recommendations of any Brookings publication are solely those of its author(s), and do not reflect the views of the Institution, its management, or its other scholars.

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