The Real Economy Blog

Joseph Brusuelas, Chief Economist, RSM US LLP

@JoeBrusuelas

Joe Brusuelas, “chief economist to the middle market,” is the preeminent voice championing issues and policies facing midsize companies in the United States and around the world. An award-winning economist, Brusuelas has more than 20 years’ experience analyzing U.S. monetary policy, labor markets, fiscal policy, international finance, economic indicators and the condition of the U.S. consumer.

A member of the Wall Street Journal’s forecasting panel, Brusuelas regularly briefs members of Congress and other senior officials regarding the impacts of federal policy on the middle market and the factors by which middle market executives make business decisions. He also frequently offers his insights on the U.S., Canadian and global economies in the financial media. In 2020, he was named one of the 100 most influential economists by Richtopia.

Before joining RSM in 2014, Brusuelas spent four years as a senior economist at Bloomberg L.P. and the Bloomberg Briefs newsletter group, where he co-founded the award-winning Bloomberg Economic Brief. Earlier in his career, he was a director at Moody's Analytics covering the U.S. and global economies for the Dismal Scientist website. He also served as chief economist at Merk Investments L.L.C. and chief U.S. economist at IDEAglobal.

RSM Canada Financial Conditions Index remains solid as election approaches.

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The Trudeau government goes into Monday’s election with momentum behind the prospects for economic growth and with the financial markets in a steady state. As the Bank of Canada noted in its Sept. 8 assessment, “Financial conditions remain highly accommodative.” But will the unintended consequences of that accommodation turn on itself? Our RSM Canada ... READ MORE >

Initial jobless claims rise in the wake of Hurricane Ida

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The economic impact of Hurricane Ida was evident in the most recent initial jobless claims data, which rose to 332,000 for the week ending Sept. 11. There were noticeable increases in first-time claims, as one would expect, in New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Louisiana and Alabama, according to government data released on Thursday. Claims actually ... READ MORE >

Global supply chain disruptions accelerate, presenting a challenge to the middle market

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Fragile global supply chains are facing another round of port closures, factory shutdowns, production halts and labor shortages as the delta variant spreads. These disruptions will almost certainly delay the return of full production in the global economy until the middle of next year and create the conditions for further price volatility until the ... READ MORE >

Budget brinkmanship as another debt-ceiling debacle looms

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Once Congress returns from its summer recess this month, it will need to take up the funding of the government past Sept. 30, when the financing of its debt runs out at the end of the fiscal year. The short window between the start of the congressional calendar and the debt financing deadline carries with it the possibility of another debt ceiling ... READ MORE >

CHART OF THE DAY: The ‘real’ unemployment rate

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Friday’s unemployment rate of 5.2% for August is probably an undercount of the number of out-of-work people in the United States. Under the Bureau of Labor Statistics' way of measuring unemployment, those who are out of work and no longer looking for a job are not counted as unemployed, so they do not count in the headline rate. But many of those workers ... READ MORE >

Jobless claims: After the deluge

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First-time jobless claims decreased to 340,000 for the week ending Aug. 28, from an upwardly revised 354,000 the week before, while continuing claims fell to 2.75 million, according to government data released on Thursday. While the weekly churn in the labor market is always of paramount interest, that churn is going to be a bit more in focus over the ... READ MORE >