Over 33,000 Pennsylvania Workers and Retirees' Pensions Saved by Biden's American Rescue Plan
President Joe Biden will walk the picket line in Michigan with striking United Auto Workers on Tuesday and continue his campaign as one of the most pro-labor union presidents in US history. It’ll be the first time in American history that a sitting president joined a picket line.
One of Biden’s signature pieces of legislation that benefited union members was the American Rescue Plan. Tucked into the bill was the Butch Lewis Act, which helped save the pensions of two to three million workers and retirees.
The provision funds the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), a federal agency tasked with protecting the pensions of more than 33 million workers and retirees. It was set to go insolvent by 2026 but is now able to provide an estimated $74-$91 billion in funding.
Earlier this month, US Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pennsylvania) announced that 108 members from the Plasterers and Cement Masons Local 94, who are based in Camp Hill, had their pensions saved thanks to the American Rescue Plan. Thanks to this legislation, 33,138 Pennsylvania workers and retirees will see their pensions fully funded..
US Q2 GDP growth unrevised at 2.1%; weekly jobless claims edge higher
Reuters
September 28, 2023 12:48 PM UTC Updated ago
WASHINGTON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. economy maintained a fairly strong pace of growth in the second quarter, the government confirmed on Thursday, and appears to have gathered momentum this quarter amid a resilient labor market.
Gross domestic product increased at an unrevised 2.1% annualized rate last quarter, the Commerce Department said in its third estimate of GDP for the April-June period on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had expected GDP for the second quarter would be unrevised.
Growth for the first quarter was revised up to a 2.2% rate from the previously reported 2.0% pace.
The government also revised GDP data from 2017 to incorporate new source information and made some statistical improvements such as the treatment of regulated investment companies and real estate investment trusts.
GDP was revised down in each of the first quarters of 2020, 2021 and 2022 mostly due to downgrades to consumer spending growth. But the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), the agency that constructs the GDP report, said there was no evidence that residual seasonality, which plagued the GDP data several years ago, was an issue.
The Fed's benchmark inflation gauge dipped lower in August
By Alicia Wallace, CNN
Updated 8:36 AM EDT, Fri September 29, 2023
Minneapolis (CNN) -- The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge showed price increases cooled considerably last month, according to new Commerce Department data released Friday that also showed a slowdown in consumer spending.
The core Personal Consumption Expenditures index, a closely watched inflation measure that excludes gas and food prices, rose 3.9% for the 12 months ended in August. It's the lowest annual increase that index has seen in two years and is a positive step toward the Fed's target of 2% inflation. ... On a monthly basis, core PCE grew 0.1%.
The overall PCE index, which includes the more volatile food and energy categories, increased 0.4% from July and 3.5% annually. That's an acceleration from the respective 0.2% and 3.3% rates seen in July; however, it also was largely expected: Gas prices heated up during the month.
Economists estimated that the headline PCE index would rise 0.5% monthly and 3.5% annually, according to Refinitiv. ... The Commerce Department's latest Personal Income and Outlays report also showed that consumers pulled back their spending in August and incomes ramped up by 0.4%.
August job openings top 9.6 million, more than expected as labor market remains strong
Source: CNBC
Published Tue, Oct 3 2023 10:06 AM EDT Updated 6 Min Ago
Employment vacancies at U.S. businesses unexpectedly surged in August, a sign that the labor market remains tight and robust despite the Federal Reserve’s efforts to slow the economy. Job openings totaled 9.61 million for the month, a jump of nearly 700,000 from July and well above the Dow Jones estimate for 8.8 million, the Labor Department said Tuesday in its monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey.
Hires, however, rose only modestly, moving up to 5.857 million, an increase of just 35,000.Much of the increase in openings came in professional and business services, which showed a burst of 509,000. Stocks fell following the report as a tighter labor market could put more pressure on the Fed to keep interest rates elevated. The Dow Jones Industrial Average most recently was off more than 260 points on the session.
The Fed follows the JOLTS report closely for signs of labor slack.
Openings had been on the decline for the last several months, indicating that the central bank’s interest rates hikes were beginning to have an impact on a labor market that had been hit by a large supply-demand mismatch in which openings had outnumbered available workers 2 to 1. The ratio now is down to 1.5 to 1, following an increase of workers classified as unemployed in August.
US private payrolls growth slows sharply in September, ADP report shows
Reuters
October 4, 20238:28 AM EDT Updated an hour ago
WASHINGTON, Oct 4 (Reuters) - U.S. private payrolls increased far less than expected in September, but that likely exaggerates the pace of slowdown in the labor market. ... Private payrolls rose by 89,000 jobs last month, the ADP National Employment Report showed on Wednesday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast private employment would rise by 153,000. Data for August was revised slightly higher to show 180,000 jobs added instead of the previously reported 177,000.
The labor market is gradually easing as it adjusts to 525 basis points worth of interest rate increases from the Federal Reserve since March 2022. The government reported on Tuesday that there were 1.51 job openings for every unemployed person in August, though unfilled positions increased by the most in two years. A survey from the Conference Board last week showed consumers' views of the labor market had improved in September.
The ADP report, jointly developed with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, was published ahead of the release on Friday of the Labor Department's more comprehensive and closely watched employment report for September. ... The ADP report has not been a reliable gauge in trying to predict the private payrolls count in the employment report.
According to a Reuters survey of economists, the Bureau of Labor Statistics is expected to report that private payrolls increased by 160,000 jobs in September. Including government employment, total nonfarm payrolls are forecast to have risen by 170,000 jobs last month after increasing by 187,000 in August.
Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Paul Simao and Andrea Ricci
Payrolls increased by 336,000 in September, much more than expected
Source: CNBC
Published Fri, Oct 6 2023 8:31 AM EDT Updated 18 Min Ago
Job growth was stronger than expected in September, a sign that the U.S. economy is hanging tough despite higher interest rates, labor strife and dysfunction in Washington.
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 336,000 for the month, better than the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 170,000, the Labor Department said Friday in a much-anticipated report. The unemployment rate was 3.8%, compared to the forecast for 3.7%.
Stock market futures turned sharply negative following the report and Treasury yields jumped. Dow futures were down more than 250 pints (sic), while the 10-year Treasury yield soared 0.17 percentage point to 4.87%, up around its highest levels since the early days of the financial crisis.
Investors have been on edge lately that a resilient economy could force the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates high and perhaps even hike more as inflation remains elevated. Wage increases, however, were softer than expected, with average hourly earnings up 0.2% for the month and 4.2% from a year ago, compared to respective estimates for 0.3% and 4.3%.
