Tuesday’s business headlines

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Here’s a look at Tuesday’s business headlines.

Retirement

The COVID-19 pandemic has hurt some Americans’ confidence that they can meet their retirement goal date on time.

Among those feeling the most negative effects are women and pre-retirees.

Even so, many Americans say the pandemic was a financial wake-up can that prompted them to rethink how they plan for their futures.

The study from Age Wave and Edward Jones find that about one out every three Americans who are planning to retire now say that will happen later due to COVID.

Child care

Childcare programs are contending with massive and unprecedented staffing shortages, leading to fewer sports and long waiting lists.

Childcare programs have long struggled with staffing because wages are so low. The nation median is $11.65 an hour and around half of programs don’t offer health insurance benefits.

The problem is getting worse as parents head back to work leaving them with few options for child care.

Video games

Video games once again maintained their sales momentum in the United States. The industry actually saw a year-over-year increase in sales compared to last May, according to industry-tracking firm NPD Group.

That was due to in large part to the sales power of Resident Evil: Village as well as the ongoing thirst for new-generation hardware and software.

Etsy

Business on Estsy boomed during the pandemic, as people looked for new sources of income. About 44% of Etsy sellers who started their business last year did so because of COVID-19.

Nationally, Etsy created 2.6 million jobs in 2020. Sellers, usually of homemade and vintage goods, contributed $13 billion to the economy, a 142% increase since 2018.