Job openings came in hotter than expected in September, suggesting that the imbalance in the labor market will take longer to resolve than originally anticipated. There were 1.9 job vacancies for each unemployed worker, near a record high, according to data from the Labor Department released ... READ MORE >
Tuan Nguyen
Initial jobless claims fall below pre-pandemic level
New filings for jobless benefits dropped unexpectedly last week despite the impact of Hurricane Ian in Florida. New claims fell by 5.3% to 214,000, below the pre-pandemic average in 2019 as layoffs remain historically low, according to government data released Thursday. In the bigger context, new ... READ MORE >
Canada’s inflation refuses to cool
September’s consumer price index for Canada put out any hope that inflation will get back under control anytime soon and only added pressure on the Bank of Canada to maintain its aggressive interest rate hikes. Canada’s CPI rose by 6.9% on a year-over-year basis, slightly down from 7% in August, ... READ MORE >
Consumer sentiment rises despite worsening inflation expectations
U.S. consumer sentiment rose for the fifth straight month to 59.8 in October but a worsening inflation outlook clouded the otherwise positive news, the University of Michigan reported on Friday. Solid income growth in a tight labor market is keeping household financial conditions strong as sentiment ... READ MORE >
Retail sales stay flat as inflation remains elevated
American consumer spending was unchanged in September, held back mainly by auto and gasoline sales as prices at the pump and auto dealers fell on the month, the Commerce Department reported on Friday. The data was not adjusted for inflation. With inflation controlled for, sales volume was also flat ... READ MORE >
Producer prices rebound, keeping pressure on Fed to raise rates
The Producer Price Index rose by 0.4% in September after falling for two straight months, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Wednesday. The series has been closely watched recently as an additional gauge for inflation. On a year-over-year basis, the producer inflation rate was 8.5%, which will ... READ MORE >
To thrive, middle market needs more women in leadership
One of the fundamental changes in the workplace over the next decade will be the increasing role of women. Women not only make up half of the workforce in the United States but they also are the more educated half. College-educated women outnumber men with similar education in the United States, and ... READ MORE >
Job openings fall as rate hikes take effect
In a sign that the chronically tight labor market may be easing, job openings plunged in August amid a slowdown in overall demand. That decline should come as an encouraging sign for the Federal Reserve, which has been targeting excess labor demand with aggressive interest rate hikes as it tries to ... READ MORE >
Initial jobless claims drop to lowest level since May
The labor market showed continuing strength as last week's new filings for jobless claims fell for the fourth week in a row, tempering recession concerns and bolstering the case for the Federal Reserve to stay aggressive in its interest rate increases. New claims dropped to 222,000, the fewest since ... READ MORE >
RSM U.S. Supply Chain Index: Back to normal for first time since pandemic hit
The U.S. Supply Chain Index in July was back above neutral for the first time in nearly three years on the back of the continuing strong rebounds in inventories and capacity utilization. With most of the COVID-19 concerns behind us and the renormalization of supply-chain linkages around the world, we ... READ MORE >