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☆ Live Updates: The April Jobs Report
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

PinnedIt’s been a hot spring for the American labor market, and while the summer forecast is milder, it’s not clear when the cool-down will begin. The last three months have seen an upswing in job creation, bending what had been a bumpy but definite downtrend since the post-pandemic resurgence. Does that mean the labor market is taking off again without ever having touched down? Workers are quitting their jobs at even lower rates than they were in 2019. “You don’t have that cost of onboarding and starting over again if you can hold on to them.”

Persons: It’s, ”, Stephen Brown, Belinda Román, “ Organizations: Labor Department, North, Capital Economics, Institute for Supply Management, National Federation of Independent, Workers, St, Mary’s University Locations: North America, San Antonio

☆ U.S. Employers Added 175,000 Jobs in April
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The American job market may be shifting into a lower gear this spring, a turn that economists have expected for months after a vigorous rebound from the pandemic shock. Employers added 175,000 positions in April, the Labor Department reported Friday, undershooting forecasts. The unemployment rate ticked up to 3.9 percent. “It’s not a bad economy; it’s still a healthy economy,” said Perc Pineda, chief economist at the Plastics Industry Association. We cannot continue robust growth indefinitely considering the limits of our economy.”

Persons: It’s, ”, Perc Pineda, “ Organizations: Labor Department, Plastics Industry Association

☆ Federal Money Is All Over Milwaukee. Biden Hopes Voters Will Notice.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Across Milwaukee, residents can see evidence of federal money from laws passed under the Biden administration, if they know where to look. It shows up in a growing array of solar panels near the airport. Some money has yet to be spent, like $3.5 million to rebuild the penguin exhibit at the local zoo and $5.1 million to repair the roof of Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport. That presents both an opportunity and a challenge to Mr. Biden’s re-election campaign as it seeks to show Americans how federal investments have improved their lives. Doing so is difficult because the laws delegated many spending decisions to state and local officials, obscuring the money’s source.

Persons: Biden, Biden’s Organizations: H.I.V, Milwaukee County, American, Infrastructure Law, Milwaukee Mitchell International Locations: Milwaukee

☆ New Migrants Get Work Permits. Other Undocumented Immigrants Want Them, Too.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Miriam Jordan | Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Sam Sanchez, a Chicago restaurateur, was incensed when President Biden announced last September that his administration would extend work eligibility to nearly half a million Venezuelans, many of them migrants who had recently crossed the border illegally. What about his undocumented employees like Ruben, a Mexican father of two U.S.-born children who has been in the United States since 1987, and Juan, another Mexican worker, who has trained dozens of new hires at Moe’s Cantina? “It’s offensive that my employees and other immigrants are being leapfrogged by new arrivals,” said Mr. Sanchez, who is on the board of the National Restaurant Association. Having built lives and families since entering the country unlawfully many years ago, they have been waiting for Congress to give them a path to work legally. “For those of us here a long time trying to do everything right, it’s just not fair that we are forgotten,” said Juan, 53, whose last name was withheld out of concern about his immigration status.

Persons: Sam Sanchez, Biden, Ruben, Juan, “, ”, Sanchez, it’s Organizations: National Restaurant Association Locations: Chicago, Mexican, United States, Moe’s

☆ Consumers Hate ‘Price Discrimination,’ but They Sure Love a Discount
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-06 | by ( Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Perhaps that’s why, in late February, the internet revolted over Wendy’s plan to test changing its menu prices across the day. If the Breakfast Baconator winds up costing $6.99 at 7 a.m. and $7.99 three hours later, what in life can you really count on anymore? The company later issued a statement saying it would not raise prices during busy parts of the day, but rather add discounts during slower hours. Nevertheless, the episode won’t stop the continued spread of so-called dynamic pricing, which describes an approach of setting prices in response to shifting patterns of demand and supply. It might not even stop the growth of “personalized pricing,” which targets individuals based on their personal willingness to pay.

☆ How to Revive a Burned Forest? Rebuild the Tree Supply Chain
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

After the smoke cleared, Mr. Harland found creeks running black with soot and the ground hardening more with every day that passed. A former timber industry executive, Mr. Harland knew the forest wouldn’t grow back on its own. Nor did he have the money to carry out a replanting operation, since growing for timber wouldn’t pay for itself; most of the nearby sawmills had shut down long ago anyway. Then a local forester Mr. Harland knew suggested he get in touch with a new company out of Seattle, called Mast. After visiting to scope out the site, Mast’s staff proposed to replant the whole acreage, free, and even pay Mr. Harland a bit at the end.

Persons: Don, Harland Organizations: Montana : Flames Locations: Montana, Long, Seattle

☆ U.S. Employers Add 275,000 Jobs in Another Strong Month
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

If the economy is slowing down, nobody told the labor market. Employers added 275,000 jobs in February, the Labor Department reported Friday, in another month that exceeded expectations even as the unemployment rate rose. It was the third straight month of gains above 200,000, and the 38th consecutive month of growth — fresh evidence that four years after going into pandemic shutdowns, America’s jobs engine still has plenty of steam. Previously reported figures for December and January were revised downward by a total of 167,000, reflecting the higher degree of statistical volatility in the winter months. That does not disrupt a picture of consistent, robust increases.

Persons: We’ve, we’re, ”, Rubeela Farooqi Organizations: Employers, Labor Department

Among registered voters nationwide, 26 percent believe the economy is good or excellent, according to polling in late February by The New York Times and Siena College. The movement occurred disproportionately among older Democrats, a constituency already likely to vote for Mr. Biden. And the share of voters saying they approve of the job Mr. Biden is doing in office has actually fallen, to 36 percent in the latest poll, from 39 percent in July. Inflation has pervaded economic sentiment since mid-2022, confronting voters daily with the price of everything from eggs to car insurance. Nearly two-thirds of registered voters in the Times/Siena poll rated the price of food and consumer goods as poor.

Persons: Biden doesn’t, Mr, Biden Organizations: The New York Times, Siena College, Times Locations: Siena

☆ Economic Dividend of Immigration Faces Legal and Logistical Hurdles
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The U.S. economic recovery from the pandemic has been stronger and more durable than many experts had expected, and a rebound in immigration is a big reason. A resumption in visa processing in 2021 and 2022 jump-started employment, allowing foreign-born workers to fill some holes in the labor force that persisted across industries and locations after the pandemic shutdowns. Immigrants also address a longer-term need: replenishing the work force, a key to meeting labor demands as birthrates decline and older people retire. International instability, economic crises, war and natural disasters have brought a new surge of arrivals who could help close the still-elevated gap between labor demand and job candidates. But that potential economic dividend must contend with the incendiary politics, logistical hurdles and administrative backlogs that the surge has created.

Organizations: Office

☆ Nature Has Value. Could We Literally Invest in It?
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-18 | by ( Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Picture this: You own a few hundred acres near a growing town that your family has been farming for generations. Turning a profit has gotten harder, and none of your children want to take it over. You don’t want to sell the land; you love the open space, the flora and fauna it hosts. But offers from developers who would turn it into subdivisions or strip malls seem increasingly tempting. But the idea has gained traction among environmentalists, money managers and philanthropists who believe that nature won’t be adequately protected unless it is assigned a value in the market — whether or not that asset generates dividends through a monetizable use.

☆ Job Market Starts 2024 With a Bang
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The United States produced an unexpectedly sizable batch of jobs last month, a boon for American workers that shows the labor market retains remarkable strength after three years of expansion. Employers added 353,000 jobs in January on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Labor Department reported on Friday, and the unemployment rate remained at 3.7 percent. The report also put an even shinier gloss on job growth for 2023, including revisions that added more than 100,000 to the figure previously tallied for December. All told, employers added 3.1 million jobs last year, more than the 2.7 million initially reported. After the loss of 14 percent of the nation’s jobs early in the Covid-19 pandemic, the labor market’s endurance despite aggressive interest rate increases has caught economists off guard.

Organizations: Employers, Labor Department Locations: States

☆ January Jobs Report U.S. Job Growth Expected to Be Solid
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

PinnedThe labor market is looking more like 2019 every month, and that’s not a bad place to be. The share of people quitting their jobs, which surged during the pandemic, is back to 2019 levels. A broad measure of wages, salaries and benefits known as the Employment Cost Index has been falling since early 2022. Employment growth has been narrowing, with sectors like education, health care and government, which vary less with economic cycles, powering most of the gains. Most of those displaced workers have shifted to positions where their skills are still needed, keeping joblessness in check — so far.

Persons: that’s, “, ”, Satyam Panday Organizations: Labor Department, Bureau of Labor Statistics

☆ Private Equity Is Starting to Share With Workers, Without Taking a Financial Hit
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-28 | by ( Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In 2018, Anna-Lisa Miller was working with agricultural cooperatives in Hawaii, helping them reinvest in their communities through shared ownership. Then she came across an investor presentation from a different universe: KKR, one of the world’s largest private equity firms. In it, a KKR executive, Pete Stavros, discussed a model he had been developing to provide employees with an equity stake in companies it purchased, so the workers would reap some benefits if it was flipped for a profit. By that time, Mr. Stavros had decided to start an organization to promote his model more broadly, hoping to reach the 12 million people who work for companies that private equity firms own. Ms. Miller saw it as a way to move much faster.

Persons: Anna, Lisa Miller, Miller, Pete Stavros, Stavros Organizations: Project Equity, KKR, KKR doesn’t Locations: Hawaii

☆ ‘We’re All Climate Economists Now’
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Lydia Depillis | More About Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

There were papers on the local economic impact of wind turbine manufacturing, the stability of electricity grids as they absorb more renewable energy, the effect of electric vehicles on housing choices, how wildfire smoke strains household finances. Janet Currie, the incoming president of the American Economic Association, chose an environmental economist, Michael Greenstone of the University of Chicago, to deliver the conference’s keynote lecture. He focused on the global challenge of shifting to renewable energy and the corresponding potential to alleviate air pollution that is particularly deadly in developing countries like India and Indonesia. “This isn’t just a series of topics, but it’s a big, interrelated problem,” Dr. Currie said. “Not only economists but everybody else is realizing that this is a first-order problem, and it’s affecting most people in some way.

Persons: Monika Piazzesi, Janet Currie, Michael Greenstone, Dr, Currie, “ Organizations: American Finance Association, American Economic Association, University of Chicago Locations: Venice, India, Indonesia

☆ Even Most Biden Voters Don’t See a Thriving Economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Lydia Depillis | More About Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

But the White House has addressed a few specific costs that matter for families, by releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to contain surging oil prices in late 2022, for example. The more the administration talks about its concrete efforts to lower prices, the more Mr. Biden will benefit, Mr. Doss said. “When I talk about the economy, it’s just inflation, and to me inflation is systemic and coming from the Trump administration,” Ms. McDowell said. Moreover, she sees the situation healing itself, and thinks Mr. Biden is doing the best he can given the challenges of the wars in Ukraine and now Gaza. Because they’ve got jobs,” Ms. McDowell said.

Persons: Biden, Doss, —, Kendra McDowell, Trump, ” Ms, McDowell, they’ve, Ms, “, ” Organizations: Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Medicare Locations: Harrisburg, Pa, Ukraine, Gaza

☆ Polluting Industries Say the Cost of Cleaner Air Is Too High
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Lydia Depillis | More About Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

By law, the agency isn’t supposed to consider the impact on polluting industries. In practice, it does — and those industries are warning of dire economic consequences. Under the Clean Air Act, every five years the E.P.A. Fine particulate matter is extremely dangerous when it percolates into human lungs, and the law has driven a vast decline in concentrations in areas like Los Angeles and the Ohio Valley. But technically there is no safe level of particulate matter, and ever-spreading wildfire smoke driven by a changing climate and decades of forest mismanagement has reversed recent progress.

Persons: Biden, Trump, Jeffrey D Organizations: Environmental Protection Agency, Act, White House Locations: Los Angeles, Ohio

Most Americans still have to commute every day. Jenn Ackerman for The New York TimesLike a majority of Americans, Ms. Hargreaves was unable to do her work at home. Source: American Community Survey Note: Average commute length for 2020 is not included. The average commute distance changed much less, an indication that commuters are driving faster — but also, more people are driving. “A lot of our choice riders, we're still working to influence them to re-choose transit,” Ms. Tucker said.

Persons: Torie Hargreaves, Jenn Ackerman, Hargreaves, Ms, That’s, Andrea Villanueva, Villanueva, The New York Times “, ” Christopher Wiese, Dr, Wiese, “ There’s, ”, Patricia Mokhtarian, John Goodwin, Rosalind Tucker, we're, Tucker, Aimee Lee, Lee Organizations: Atlanta Washington San, Mo . Chicago Minneapolis New, Mo . Chicago Minneapolis New York City Los Angeles Philadelphia Columbus Denver, The New York Times, Atlanta Austin Boston Charlotte Chicago Columbus Dallas Denver Detroit Houston Kansas City Los Angeles Miami, Atlanta Austin Boston Charlotte Chicago Columbus Dallas Denver Detroit Houston Kansas City Los Angeles Miami Minneapolis Nashville New York, Atlanta Austin Boston Charlotte Chicago Columbus Dallas Denver Detroit Houston Kansas City Los Angeles Miami Minneapolis Nashville New York City Philadelphia San, Atlanta Austin Boston Charlotte Chicago Columbus Dallas Denver Detroit Houston Kansas City Los Angeles Miami Minneapolis Nashville New York City Philadelphia San Francisco Seattle Washington Midnight, Georgia Institute of Technology, Census, New York City –, Philadelphia –, Angeles –, Francisco –, Boston –, Seattle –, Chicago –, Denver –, Kansas City –, Miami –, Houston –, Minneapolis –, Washington –, Austin –, Dallas –, Atlanta –, Charlotte –, Columbus –, Nashville –, Detroit –, BART, area’s Metropolitan Transportation Commission, Labor Department, Atlanta Regional Commission, Lifeline, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, Regional Transit Authority, % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % Locations: Atlanta Washington San Francisco Boston Kansas City, Mo . Chicago Minneapolis, Mo . Chicago Minneapolis New York, Minneapolis, postpandemic, Atlanta, Atlanta Austin Boston Charlotte Chicago Columbus Dallas Denver Detroit Houston Kansas City Los Angeles Miami Minneapolis, Atlanta Austin Boston Charlotte Chicago Columbus Dallas Denver Detroit Houston Kansas City Los Angeles Miami Minneapolis Nashville New York City, Atlanta Austin Boston Charlotte Chicago Columbus Dallas Denver Detroit Houston Kansas City Los Angeles Miami Minneapolis Nashville New York City Philadelphia San Francisco Seattle, South Minneapolis, North Minneapolis, Boston, Chicago , Kansas City, San Francisco, Washington, New York, Francisco, area’s

☆ U.S. Economic Growth Accelerated in the Third Quarter
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Lydia Depillis | More About Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

And with layoffs still near record lows, workers have little reason to hold off on making purchases, even if it means using a credit card — an increasingly pricey option as interest rates drift higher. One beneficiary of those open pocketbooks is Amanda McClements, who owns a home goods store in Washington, D.C., called Salt & Sundry. Sales are up about 15 percent from last year and have finally eclipsed 2019 levels. “People can’t get enough candles; that continues to be our top seller,” Ms. McClements said. “We’ve been experiencing a really uneven recovery,” she said.

Persons: “ There’s, ”, Yelena Shulyatyeva, Amanda McClements, can’t, Ms, McClements, hadn’t, “ We’ve Organizations: BNP, “, Washington , D.C Locations: Washington ,

☆ How High Interest Rates Sting Bakers, Farmers and Consumers
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( Lydia Depillis | More About Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Yet the economy continued to burn hot, with job openings outstripping the supply of workers and consumers spending freely. Some categories driving inflation sank back quickly, like furniture and food, while others — like energy — have resurged. In September, the central bank held its rate steady, but signaled that the rate would stay high for longer than the market had anticipated. For start-ups, which proliferated over the last few years, the concern is about the survival or failure of their businesses. Most entrepreneurs use their savings and help from friends and family to start businesses; only about 10 percent rely on bank loans.

Persons: “ We’ve, ”, Gregory Daco, Luke Pardue

Mr. McCulley had been getting along all right in Newark, N.J., with one Kia Soul between him, his wife and their young daughter. Mr. McCulley was born there and always wanted to return, so they moved to Pompano Beach in early 2022. By that time, after some car swaps, they were driving a 2022 Kia Forte, which he leased for $294 per month. ”She could walk to Aldi and get groceries,” Mr. McCulley said of his wife. For Mr. McCulley, it’s an illustration that even for people who look comfortably middle class, car expenses contribute to a feeling of being overwhelmed.

Persons: McCulley, Kia Forte, Mr, Kia Sorento, you’re, “, ” Organizations: Kia, Aldi, Gas Locations: Newark , N.J, . Florida, Pompano Beach, Carvana, Florida, Pompano

☆ Between a Rock and a ‘Hard’ Insurance Market
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The hardening is evident to anyone who has shopped for personal vehicle insurance, which rose 17 percent in the first six months of this year, according to Insurify.com. Even more problematic is when coverage thins out, as it has in areas hit hard by climate change. Farmers Insurance stopped renewing almost a third of its policies in hurricane-weary Florida this summer and State Farm and Allstate largely pulled out of wildfire-ravaged California.

Organizations: Farmers Insurance, Farm, Allstate Locations: Florida, California

PinnedFederal Reserve officials are expected to leave interest rates unchanged at their meeting on Wednesday, buying themselves more time to assess whether borrowing costs are high enough to weigh down the economy and wrestle inflation under control. Central bankers have already raised interest rates to a range of 5.25 to 5.5 percent, the highest level in 22 years. At least a few officials might stop expecting another quarter-point rate move this year, predicting instead that interest rates have already reached their peak. If, on the other hand, officials expect to lower rates by less in 2024, it could be a signal that policymakers expect inflation to prove more stubborn. Fed officials will release fresh economic forecasts.

Persons: Jerome H, Powell, ”, Antúlio Bomfim, Powell’s, “, William English Organizations: Federal Reserve, Fed, Trust Asset Management, United Auto Workers, Yale Locations: America, Panama

☆ August Jobs Report U.S. Job Growth Expected to Cool
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Lydia Depillis | Joe Rennison | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Forecasters believe that trend continued in August, estimating that the Labor Department’s monthly report on Friday will show the addition of 170,000 jobs. That would be a decrease from the 218,000-job average over the previous three months, and closer to the number needed to employ the approximately 140,000 people who enter the labor force each month. But analysts say the Federal Reserve’s push to cool rapid inflation by ratcheting up borrowing costs — and the impact on hiring — has a ways to go. Immigrants work at higher rates than the American-born population, in which labor force participation is declining as people age into retirement. Already, Americans are feeling the difference: In the Conference Board’s reading of consumer sentiment for August, the share of workers saying jobs were “hard to get” increased sharply, while the share saying jobs were “plentiful” fell.

Persons: —, ’ ”, Stephen Juneau, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, “ There’s, we’ve Organizations: Labor, Bank of America Locations: American, ”

☆ Impact of Hollywood Strikes on Jobs Goes Beyond the Strikers
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Lydia Depillis | More About Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For one thing, many of SAG-AFTRA’s members work for television news stations and aren’t on strike. Between intermittent gigs, they’re used to taking second jobs, like waiting on tables or designing websites. During the strike, they’re also allowed to work in theater and commercials, as well as on a handful of independent projects that have agreed to abide by the union’s demands. “We’re used to being freelancers, and just being able to go along,” said Jodi Long, president of SAG-AFTRA’s Los Angeles local. Even if the industry becomes very busy when the strike ends as studios restock their pipelines, months of income will be hard to replace.

Persons: they’re, “ We’re, ”, Jodi Long, what’s, Ms, Long Organizations: SAG Locations: Los Angeles

☆ U.S. Hiring Settles Into a Lower Gear
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Lydia Depillis | More About Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Much of the slowdown has come from industries that are returning to more typical levels after the pandemic’s upheaval. Exhibit A: truck transportation, which grew to serve a stay-at-home online shopping spree and shrank as it died down. Trucking company payrolls flattened out over the past year, which probably masks an outright decline because many contracted owner-operators have also parked their rigs. “With Yellow taking 20-plus-thousand drivers out of the market, it’s a start in getting supply under control.”It’s not just the trucking industry, however. Lately, though, he’s seen more qualified job applicants who need work because their starting dates at law firms have been deferred.

Persons: ”, Kenny Vieth, ” It’s, Kevin Vaughan, It’s, he’s Organizations: Trucking, ACT Research Locations: Chicago

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