DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Wage hikes may have been a key driver of inflation. They may now be fueling mass layoffs
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Charlotte Morabito | In Charlottemorabito | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Central bank officials around the world have said taming inflation is their top priority, but rising prices have turned out to be stickier than originally expected. The U.S. economy saw a pickup in inflation that began in 2021 amid pandemic-induced supply chain issues. This led to record job openings and high turnover as people job hopped for more money and the unemployment rate declined sharply. "But this is an unusual episode where it seems like right now the main driver of inflation is actually labor costs, and what that means actually is that workers are gaining." But there are signs that wage growth is cooling, especially as layoffs have skyrocketed nearly fivefold in 2023 across some industries.

Persons: Laura Veldkamp Organizations: Columbia Business School Locations: U.S

☆ The Fed’s favorite inflation gauge just heated up — and that could mean another rate hike
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The closely watched core PCE index — where volatile components of food and energy are excluded — unexpectedly ticked up: The Fed’s go-to gauge was up 4.7% for the year. In March, the core PCE gauge grew by 4.6%. Economists had forecast that core PCE would hold steady at 4.6%, according to Refinitiv. Consumer spending jumped 0.8% in April from March, double what economists had expected. Excluding the effects of inflation, real consumer spending increased 0.5%, reflecting a boost seen from new car purchases, according to the report.

Search resuls for: "Laura Veldkamp"

2 mentions found