RSM’s Chart of the Day shows steep competition for available job openings in the U.S. labor market. … READ MORE >
Calm before the storm: New jobless claims remain below long-term average
Initial benefit claims for unemployment insurance remained subdued in the past week, signaling a still-healthy labor market despite the outbreak of the coronavirus. … READ MORE >
Closer look at monthly jobs data shows the glass only half full
The monthly change in non-farm payrolls is closely followed by financial markets and is often the catalyst for outsized market moves. Analysis of the payroll data outside of the traditional focus on the latest monthly number shows some cracks in the decade-long recovery from the 2007-09 Great Recession, pointing to long-term issues that will likely need to be addressed by monetary and fiscal policymakers. … READ MORE >
Think China is paying for tariffs? Guess again
So far in 2019, the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol is on pace to collect more than $72 billion in import duties as a result of U.S. tariffs. An oft-repeated claim is that China is paying the cost of the tariffs. But we have data showing exactly who is paying for the tariffs: U.S. businesses and households. … READ MORE >
New RSM US Manufacturing Outlook Index points to manufacturing slowdown, recession risk
A new manufacturing index from RSM has been declining on trend for 14 months since peaking in June 2018, and has been negative since December of last year. The performance of the new measure, the RSM US Manufacturing Outlook Index, suggests the potential for negative growth in manufacturing sales in the months ahead. … READ MORE >
Middle market companies yet to embrace hedging, despite mounting costs
Subtitle
Despite mounting cost pressures on their supply chains, just a fraction of middle market companies appear to be hedging commodity prices for the longer term, recent RSM research shows. Nearly 70 percent of executives surveyed in the proprietary RSM US Middle Market Business Index survey said they paid more for goods … … READ MORE >