The Employment Cost Index—the Federal Reserve's closely watched metric on wage growth—increased by 1.0% in the second quarter, the slowest rate since June 2021, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday. That brought the 12-month increase of overall employment compensation down to ... READ MORE >
household savings
How government payments during the pandemic improved household balance sheets
Consumers continued their pandemic-era rebalancing of household finances in the first quarter, shedding credit card debt and home equity lines of credit. These adjustments to household balance sheets appear consistent with increases in government transfers and changes in buying habits during the ... READ MORE >
How pandemic savings might have saved the day
An avalanche of spending is waiting to be unleashed by the American household. Add that to the expected investments by the corporate sector to improve productivity, and the result is a robust consensus forecast of 6.4% growth in gross domestic product – RSM predicts 7.5% – for this year. That number ... READ MORE >