Economic and jobs news thread

weatheriscool
Posts: 12950
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 6:16 pm

Re: Economic and jobs news thread

Post by weatheriscool »

US manufacturing increased in July but at slower pace
Source: AP

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER
WASHINGTON (AP) — Growth in U.S. manufacturing slowed in July amid ongoing supply-chain problems.

The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing managers, said Monday that its index of manufacturing activity declined by 1.1 percentage points to a reading of 59.5. The index stood at 60.6 in June.

Any reading above 50 indicates growth in the manufacturing sector. July was the 14th consecutive month manufacturing has grown after contracting in April 2020 when the coronavirus triggered nationwide business shutdowns.

But the July reading showed slower growth in new orders and production. Manufacturers have struggled in recent months with supply-chain bottlenecks that have made it difficult for them to get computer chips and other necessary components for their products.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-bu ... 9d1cc54cb8
weatheriscool
Posts: 12950
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 6:16 pm

Re: Economic and jobs news thread

Post by weatheriscool »

Target to offer debt-free education to front-line workers
Source: AP

By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO

NEW YORK (AP) — Target Corp. is joining a growing list of retailers and restaurant chains offering educational assistance at select online institutions for its front-line employees in a fiercely competitive job market.

The Minneapolis-based discounter said Wednesday that it plans to spend $200 million over the next four years to offer its workers free undergraduate and associate degree programs as well as certificates in business-oriented majors at select institutions such as University of Arizona and University of Denver. Textbooks will also be free.

Like a slew of other big corporate names like Walmart, Taco Bell and the Walt Disney Co., Target is teaming up with Guild Education, a Denver startup that negotiates deals between companies and colleges for the program. Target says it’s offering one of the most comprehensive programs.

Target’s program will be available this fall for more than 340,000 U.S.-based part-time and full-time students. Workers, including those on the first day on the job, can attend classes at more than 40 schools, colleges and universities. They can choose from 250 business programs like computer science, operations and business management.


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/business-edu ... 51bf03b550
weatheriscool
Posts: 12950
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 6:16 pm

Re: Economic and jobs news thread

Post by weatheriscool »

July jobs report: Economy adds back 943,000 payrolls, unemployment rate falls to 5.4%

Emily McCormick · Reporter
Fri, August 6, 2021, 8:31 AM

U.S. employers added back more jobs than expected last month, with payroll gains moving in tandem with improving economic activity and consumer mobility during the recovery.

The U.S. Labor Department released its July jobs report Friday morning at 8:30 a.m. ET. Here were the main metrics from the report, compared to consensus estimates compiled by Bloomberg:

-- Change in non-farm payrolls: 943,000 vs. +865,000 expected and a revised +938,000 in June

-- Unemployment rate: 5.4% vs. 5.7% expected and 5.9% in June

-- Average hourly earnings, month-on-month: 0.4% vs. 0.3% expected and 0.3% in June

-- Average hourly earnings, year-on-year: 4.0% vs. 3.9% expected and 3.6% in June

At 865,000, the expected number of payroll gains would mark the largest in nearly a year, with the unemployment rate falling to the lowest level since the onset of COVID-19 in March 2020, based on consensus estimates.

The economy, however, is still trying to recoup millions of jobs lost since the start of the pandemic. As of June, payrolls were still down by nearly 6.8 million since March of last year, with much of this deficit still present in the leisure and hospitality industries. These employers shed a total of 2.4 million jobs as of June since the pandemic first brought about shutdowns across the U.S.

But since the June jobs report, the Delta variant has swept across the country, exacerbating many workers' concerns over becoming infected in the workplace. Plus, difficulties finding childcare over the summer and the ongoing support of federal unemployment enhanced benefits have lingered, generating a confluence of factors that may have kept more individuals sidelined from the labor market.
{snip}

Read more: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/jobs-rep ... 22622.html
weatheriscool
Posts: 12950
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 6:16 pm

Re: Economic and jobs news thread

Post by weatheriscool »

Walmart Gives Weekly Bonuses to Keep Warehouse Workers

Most U.S. Walmart warehouses give staff extra payments to forgo vacations or work extra hours as it ramps up for holidays

By Sarah Nassauer
https://twitter.com/sarahnassauer
Sarah.Nassauer@wsj.com
Aug. 6, 2021 8:00 am ET
Walmart Inc. is offering weekly bonuses to many warehouse employees to forgo August vacations, as the country’s biggest retailer ramps up for the holiday shopping season with a tight labor market and stretched supply chains.

The warehouse worker bonus varies by location and job type. Some workers have been offered $200, others as much as $500. The majority of Walmart’s 190 U.S. warehouses are offering the weekly bonus to those who stay on the job and, in some cases, work more hours, according to a person familiar with the situation.

Walmart aims to acknowledge the efforts of employees with incentives, and provide opportunity in a competitive job market, said a Walmart spokesman. The retailer’s distribution warehouses “continue to see high volume as we are preparing for peak season,” he said. Walmart is the country’s largest private employer with 1.6 million U.S. workers, most of which are hourly workers in stores and warehouses.

Retailers and other businesses are straining to hire workers and face a global supply chain snarled by the pandemic and other factors as demand for many products and services grows.

While the peak holiday shopping season kicks off in stores in the fall, it is already the holiday shopping season in the supply chain and warehouses of large retailers. Retailers aim to have warehouse operations running smoothly ahead of the season and are already handling some holiday inventory.
TO READ THE FULL STORY
SUBSCRIBE
SIGN IN


Read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/walmart-gi ... 1628251212
weatheriscool
Posts: 12950
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 6:16 pm

Re: Economic and jobs news thread

Post by weatheriscool »

U.S. job openings surge to new record high, hiring increases

Reuters

WASHINGTON, Aug 9 (Reuters) - U.S. job openings jumped to a fresh record high in June and hiring also increased, an indication that the supply constraints that have held back the labor market remain elevated even as the pace of the economic recovery gathers momentum.

Job openings, a measure of labor demand, shot up by 590,000 to 10.1 million on the last day of June, the Labor Department said in its monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report, on Monday.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast job openings would rise to 9.28 million in June. Vacancies increased in all four regions and the job openings rate rose to 6.5% from 6.1%.

Employers have struggled to quickly rehire workers to keep up with the speed from which the economy has emerged from the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, which upended many businesses as restrictions and fears of the virus kept people home.
{snip}

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/us-job ... 021-08-09/
User avatar
caltrek
Posts: 6509
Joined: Mon May 17, 2021 1:17 pm

Re: Economic and jobs news thread

Post by caltrek »

Gold's Flash Crash: Why It is Difficult to Remain Bullish Right Now
August 11, 2021

https://www.thenationalnews.com/busines ... right-now/

Introduction:
(Bloomberg) Gold’s swift drop to the lowest since March has highlighted a tough truth for the precious metal -- there’s a growing list of reasons to be gloomy.

While Monday’s flash crash was exaggerated by a combination of technical factors and poor liquidity, the initial trigger remains true -- strong U.S. jobs data showed the world’s largest economy is well on its way to recovery. That sets the stage for the tapering of stimulus by the Federal Reserve, potentially removing one of the key drivers that helped send gold to a record last year.

A strengthening dollar, plus growing expectations that inflation will prove manageable, are adding to the headwinds. Exchange-traded funds have also cut their holdings significantly this year. Gold traded 1.9% lower at $1,730.13 an ounce by 4:33 p.m. in New York, after earlier tumbling as much as 4.1%. Bullion futures for December delivery fell 2.1% to settle at $1,726.50 on the Comex.

A strengthening dollar, plus growing expectations that inflation will prove manageable, are adding to the headwinds. Exchange-traded funds have also cut their holdings significantly this year. Gold traded 1.9% lower at $1,730.13 an ounce by 4:33 p.m. in New York, after earlier tumbling as much as 4.1%. Bullion futures for December delivery fell 2.1% to settle at $1,726.50 on the Comex.

Investors will now turn their attention first to the U.S. inflation data scheduled for later this week, and then ahead to signals from Fed officials at the Jackson Hole conference later this month. The timing of tightening by the U.S. central bank is key, and hawkish talk from Chair Jerome Powell could spell the start of a definitively bearish market for bullion.
Don't mourn, organize.

-Joe Hill
weatheriscool
Posts: 12950
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 6:16 pm

Re: Economic and jobs news thread

Post by weatheriscool »

Real average hourly earnings for all employees decrease 0.1% in July
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics

Real average hourly earnings for all employees decreased 0.1 percent from June to July, seasonally adjusted, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This result stems from an increase of 0.4 percent in average hourly earnings combined with an increase of 0.5 percent in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U).

Real average weekly earnings decreased 0.1 percent over the month due to the change in real average hourly earnings combined with no change in the average workweek.

Real average hourly earnings decreased 1.2 percent, seasonally adjusted, from July 2020 to July 2021. The change in real average hourly earnings combined with an increase of 0.6 percent in the average workweek resulted in a 0.7-percent decrease in real average weekly earnings over this period.


Production and nonsupervisory employees

Real average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees were unchanged from June to July, seasonally adjusted. This result stems from a 0.4-percent increase in average hourly earnings combined with an increase of 0.5 percent in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).

Real average weekly earnings decreased 0.1 percent over the month due to the unchanged real average hourly earnings being combined with no change in average weekly hours.

From July 2020 to July 2021, real average hourly earnings decreased 1.1 percent, seasonally adjusted. The change in real average hourly earnings combined with a 0.6-percent increase in the average workweek resulted in a 0.5-percent decrease in real average weekly earnings over this period.
_____________
Real Earnings for August 2021 is scheduled to be released on September 14, 2021 at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

Read more: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/realer.nr0.htm
weatheriscool
Posts: 12950
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 6:16 pm

Re: Economic and jobs news thread

Post by weatheriscool »

U.S. consumer price increases slowed in July, inflation still high

Wed, August 11, 2021, 8:37 AM · 2 min read

WASHINGTON, Aug 11 (Reuters) - U.S. consumer price increases slowed in July but inflation overall remained historically high amid continued supply-chain disruptions and stronger demand for travel-related services as economic activity rebounded.

The consumer price index increased 0.5% last month after climbing 0.9% in June, the Labor Department said on Wednesday.

In the 12 months through July, the CPI advanced 5.4%. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the CPI rose 0.3% after increasing 0.9% in June.

The so-called core CPI rose 4.3% on a year-on-year basis after advancing 4.5% in June. Annual inflation rates have been lifted by the fading out of last spring's weak readings from the CPI calculation but those so-called base effects are leveling off.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the overall CPI would rise 0.5% and the core CPI would rise 0.4%.

The swiftness of the economic recovery has caused a mismatch between supply and demand in a few key sectors as businesses try to rebuild their inventories and overcome supply chain hurdles that were caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Low interest rates and nearly $6 trillion in government relief have also bolstered demand, causing price pressures to build.
{snip}

Read more: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-consum ... 39247.html
weatheriscool
Posts: 12950
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 6:16 pm

Re: Economic and jobs news thread

Post by weatheriscool »

Home Prices Jumped Across the U.S. in Second Quarter

National Association of Realtors numbers show supply of existing homes for sale can’t keep up with demand

By Nicole Friedman

Home prices surged in almost every corner of the U.S. in the second quarter as robust demand continued to overwhelm the supply of homes for sale.

The median sales price for single-family existing homes was higher in the quarter compared with a year ago for 182 of the 183 metro areas tracked by the National Association of Realtors, the association said Thursday. In 94% of those metro areas, median prices rose by more than 10% from a year earlier.

Nationwide, the median single-family existing-home sales price rose 22.9% in the second quarter to $357,900 from a year ago, a record in data going back to 1968, NAR said.

Home prices have climbed in the past year as low interest rates and increased remote work spurred new homebuying demand. At the same time, the inventory of homes on the market has dropped as potential sellers canceled or delayed their plans to move. The homes that do hit the market sell quickly, often after a bidding war.

Still, the homebuying frenzy has shown signs of a slowdown in recent months. High prices have attracted more sellers to the market and pushed some buyers to the sidelines.
Read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/home-price ... 1628777839
weatheriscool
Posts: 12950
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 6:16 pm

Re: Economic and jobs news thread

Post by weatheriscool »

Consumer Sentiment in U.S. Plunges to Lowest Since 2011

By Jordan Yadoo
August 13, 2021, 10:00 AM EDT Updated on August 13, 2021, 10:19 AM EDT

-- University of Michigan index slumps by 11 points to 70.2
-- Concerns grow about virus, outlook for economy, income
U.S. consumer sentiment fell in early August to the lowest level in nearly a decade as Americans grew more concerned about the economy's prospects, inflation and the recent surge in coronavirus cases.

The University of Michigan's preliminary sentiment index fell by 11 points to 70.2, the lowest since December 2011, data released Friday showed. The figure fell well short of all estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists.

Consumer sentiment in U.S. plunges on concerns about virus, economic prospects

The slump in confidence risks a more pronounced slowing in economic growth in coming months should consumers rein in spending. The recent deterioration in sentiment highlights how rising prices and concerns about the delta variant's potential impact on the economy are weighing on Americans.

"Consumers have correctly reasoned that the economy's performance will be diminished over the next several months, but the extraordinary surge in negative economic assessments also reflects an emotional response, mainly from dashed hopes that the pandemic would soon end," Richard Curtin, director of the survey, said in the report.

Following the data, the yield on 10-year Treasury notes fell, the Bloomberg dollar index traded at its lows for the day, and the S&P 500 lost ground.

The expectations gauge plummeted almost 14 points to 65.2, the lowest since October 2013. A measure of consumers' outlook for the economy over the coming year soured, falling the most since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020.

Only 36% of respondents expect a decline in the jobless rate, down from 52% the prior month, despite record job openings. Consumers also became decidedly downbeat about their income prospects. The gauge of expected personal finances fell to a seven-year low.
{snip}

-- With assistance by Chris Middleton, and Benjamin Purvis

Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... since-2011
Post Reply