Inflation continues to eat into the US economy and more and more impact on hourly earnings. According to data released this week by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, real average hourly earnings for all employees decreased by 1% from May to June of this year. The decrease results from the combination of a 0.1 percent…
Read More »More bad news on the economic front as the U.S. economy shrunk at a 1.4% annualized rate during the first three months of 2022. The report from the Commerce Department Bureau of Economic Analysis pointed to a spike in imports along with a decline in exports as a couple of primary causes of the downturn.…
Read More »Although the January jobs report, which some analysts project will be bleak, will not be released until later this morning, there are still ominous signs elsewhere for the U.S. economy. As the omicron variant of COVID began to surge in December, some 4.3 million workers quit their jobs with the highest percentage of those quitting…
Read More »We’ve seen a mixed bag when it comes to economic news over the past few weeks with consumer prices continuing to rise at restaurants but restaurant spending stagnating through August. According to the Consumer Price Index report for August as released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), prices at full-service restaurants rose by 0.6%…
Read More »Inflation concerns are back in a real way as consumer prices rose 0.9 percent for the month of June according to data released this week by the Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose to an annualized rate of 5.4 percent, and for the month, almost doubled the projected…
Read More »As the coronavirus continues to ebb and flow in different regions of the country, causing some states to slow the pace of re-opening for business, the volatility is taking a toll on consumer confidence across the board. According to new data released this week by the Conference Board, consumer confidence dipped in July as COVID-19…
Read More »Apparently President Trump is not the only elected official itching to open the economy back up as quickly as possible. The Pennsylvania legislature passed legislation this week that would override Governor Tom Wolf’s current stay-at-home order and require the state to align with federal guidelines on which businesses will be allowed to reopen during the…
Read More »As the US economy continues its longest expansion ever recorded, now into its eleventh year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) last week reported that some 266,000 new jobs were added in January. In light of the good news all-around from the BLS January report with unemployment basically unchanged at 3.6%, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome…
Read More »The US economic expansion now officially qualifies as the longest in history! The nation’s GDP has grown for the last 121 consecutive months, having started back in 2009 after the end of the Great Recession. Notwithstanding the strength and growth of the economy, the country is replete with those who would hamstring it. A new…
Read More »It has long been a subject for debate whether an increase in the minimum wage has a negative impact on local economies, but in response to 43 state and local minimum wage hikes over the past several years compiled by the Employment Policies Institute, business owners from across the country have reported that they have…
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