The Real Economy Blog

Economic News from RSM

Joseph Brusuelas, Chief Economist and Principal, 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 and the UCLA Anderson School of Management's Board of Directors, 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. In December 2023, Brusuelas and the economics team were recognized on Bloomberg's list of Best Bond Forecasters after correctly predicting where the benchmark Treasury would end the year.

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.

Morning market minute: Will wage growth moderate?

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A look at U.S. wage growth ahead of the November U.S. jobs report to be released today should translate to a gain of 3.9% on a year-ago basis. We expect a net change in total employment of 220,000 positions, a 4.1% unemployment rate and a 0.3% increase in average hourly earnings. Solid job growth in ... READ MORE >

Initial jobless claims climb amid holiday volatility

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First-time claims for unemployment benefits increased by 9,000 to 224,000 last week, in line with the 13-week moving average of 226,000 and a sign of a labor market where workers have a remarkable level of job security. With arrival of the holiday season, though, top-line claims will show volatility in ... READ MORE >

ISM service sector survey: Solid expansion continues

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The U.S. service sector in November showed an expansion for the 51st month in the 54 months since the recovery from the pandemic began, according to the Institute for Supply Management’s services purchasing managers index released on Wednesday. With the labor market at full employment and wages growing ... READ MORE >

Servicing external debt in a strong-dollar environment

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Strong U.S. economic growth, the advent of industrial policy and the arrival of expansionary fiscal policy next year have all caused the greenback to soar in value recently, with more increases on the way. But the dollar’s strength is coming at price for emerging markets, which must pay more to service ... READ MORE >

Initial jobless claims remain stable at 213,000

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First-time jobless claims remained remarkably stable at 213,000 as continuing claims increased to 1.9 million for the week ending Nov. 23. Our preferred metric of first-time claims, the 13-week moving average, declined to 226,200 as the distortions of the two recent hurricanes eased, according to the ... READ MORE >

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