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The U.S. unemployment rate ticked up to 3.6% in February as more workers entered the labor force, and wage gains slowed to 0.2% from 0.3% in January, the Labor Department's report showed. "This report screams soft landing and looks to be a pretty good one for the Fed," said Omair Sharif of Inflation Insights. After the report, futures tied to the Fed policy rate pointed to a quarter-point rate hike as the most likely outcome of the central bank's meeting this month. Traders also slashed expectations for the Fed to ultimately raise rates any higher than 5.5%. "However, the February CPI report will also weigh heavily in the Fed’s deliberations of whether to raise rates 25bps or 50bps.

☆ Payrolls rose 311,000 in February, more than expected, showing solid growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Nonfarm payrolls rose by 311,000 for the month, the Labor Department reported Friday. Job creation decelerated in February but was still stronger than expected despite Federal Reserve efforts to slow the economy and bring down inflation. The unemployment rate rose to 3.6%, above the expectation for 3.4%, amid a tick higher in the labor force participation rate to 62.5%, its highest level since March 2020. Though the jobs number was stronger than expectations, February's growth represented a deceleration from an unusually strong January. Powell specifically noted the "extremely tight" labor market as a reason why rates are likely to continue rising and stay elevated.

☆ Unemployment for Black and Hispanic women rose in February, but more workers join the labor force
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Olivier Douliery | AFP | Getty ImagesThe unemployment rate for Black and Hispanic women rose in February, but so did the number of people looking for jobs. Women aged 20 and over in the labor force tracked that move, with the unemployment rate rising slightly to 3.2% from 3.1%. Black women saw their unemployment rate jump to 5.1% from 4.7%. For Hispanic women, the labor force participation rate rose slightly to 61.3% from 61.1%, while the employment-population ratio stayed unchanged at 58.4%. In February, the U.S. economy added 311,000 payrolls, though the unemployment rate ticked up and wages rose slightly.

☆ Layoffs are still historically low, so why does it feel like everyone's losing their job?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | Madison Hoff | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The layoffs and discharges rate in January was 1.1%, which remains historically low. While BLS data may show a low US layoff rate overall, tech layoff announcements are important, given Pollak said that tech and finance are "synonymous with Americans' aspirations generally." "Those markets are very exposed to tech layoffs, and tech plays a disproportionate role in the economy," Terrazas added. Pollak told Insider that the layoffs at tech companies are "relatively small" and that "many companies also are not pursuing layoffs across the board." Despite the layoff rate being very low, job seekers may still be concerned about these headlines.

☆ Fed returning to half-point rate hikes would be 'wrong' move, Wharton's Siegel says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Federal Reserve should not raise interest rates by 50 basis points at its next policy meeting, said Jeremy Siegel, pressor emeritus of finance at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School. Siegel also called the Fed's focus on worker pay "misguided," nothing that wages have increased less than inflation since the Covid pandemic began. The central bank has pointed to the hot job market as a major reason for implementing further interest rate hikes. Rather than focusing on the "terribly backward-looking" index, he said the Fed can look to falling commodity and freight prices as examples of disinflation. Siegel told CNBC in January that the U.S. has "really solved the inflation problem" and that it would be a mistake for the Fed to continue raising interest rates.

☆ Biden is once again pushing to give all US workers paid parental leave— and he wants their kids to have free universal preschool, too
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Biden is pushing for paid family and medical leave in his budget proposal unveiled on Thursday. "Policies such as paid leave and childcare will bring more workers into the labor force and improve productivity," Cecilia Rouse, chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said. Biden has long supported paid family and medical leave, along with investments in childcare, and he has urged Congress to implement measures that would bolster those programs. "For middle- and low-income workers in particular, access to paid family and medical leave is all too rare, but even the highest wage workers are more likely than not to be without paid family leave," they wrote in their letter. The last time the Biden administration tried to push through paid leave — even at just four weeks — it was torpedoed by Republicans and one Democrat.

☆ Biden budget would cut deficit by $3 trillion over next decade with 25% minimum tax on richest Americans
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Emma Kinery | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

President Joe Biden released his budget on Thursday, vowing to cut $3 trillion from the federal deficit over the next decade, in part, by levying a 25% minimum tax on the wealthiest Americans. "It does this in part by reforming our tax code to reward work, not wealth, including by ensuring that no billionaire pays a lower tax rate than a teacher or firefighter and by quadrupling the tax rate on corporate stock buybacks," Young said. In addition to social spending, the budget includes robust defense funding. House Budget Chairman Jodey Arrington told CNN on Wednesday the GOP budget should be ready by the second week in May. Preempting Republican concerns, Rouse stressed the ways the Biden White House has repeatedly bucked economic expectations.

☆ Millennials in their 30s are sitting in an economic quagmire that could stick with them through retirement
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Jason Lalljee | Madison Hoff | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

In the long run, this generation may also be hit by cuts in Social Security benefits. In the longer run, millennials' retirement may also be affected if Social Security benefits are cut. Millennials in their 30s are accruing debt faster than their peersWhile Experian and Credit Karma research show Gen X has the highest average debt, millennials still hold a lot of debt too — and are accumulating it faster than anyone else. Millennials face looming retirement insecurityIf all of that wasn't enough, millennials' retirement situation in the future could be different from Gen X and baby boomers. Additionally, millennials' retirement safety nets are likely to be affected if they can't get full Social Security benefits.

☆ Gender pay gap could cost the world economy $7 trillion, Moody's says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Jihye Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Narrowing the difference in wages between men and women in the labor force can boost the world's economy by about 7% — or $7 trillion, according to a Moody's Analytics report. At this rate, it may take 132 years for the world to close the economic gender gap, Moody's said. The economic boost will come as more women join the labor force and there's an increase in productivity. "Closing the gender gap in labour force participation and the gender gap in management in OECD countries can raise global economic activity by approximately 7%, or about $7 trillion in today's dollars," directors Dawn Holland and Katrina Ell wrote in the report. The report said narrowing the pay gap in emerging markets, such as India, would raise that potential even further.

☆ Stocks week ahead: It's hell week on Wall Street
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The unflinching resilience of the US labor market is one of — if not the — greatest source of tension in today’s economy. That means the Fed’s already painful rate hikes are likely to continue until the job market simmers. In just one year, the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates from nearly zero to a range of 4.5% to 4.75% to cool the economy. The labor market is stronger than ever: The US added a shocking 517,000 jobs in January and knocked unemployment down to its lowest level since 1969. If the labor market remains strong, more Fed-induced pain lies ahead.

☆ These are 5 of the world's best countries for working parents — and the U.S. isn’t on the list
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Working parents need all of the help they can get. Iceland, for example, is one of the best countries in the world for working parents, according to a new report from Bloomberg, which looks at how nations' policies affect the quality and affordability of child care for working parents. These problems exist everywhere to some degree, but some countries appear more committed than others to providing working parents with enough resources to lighten that heavy load. Canada, for example, committed in 2021 to spending $22 billion over five years to bring down early education and child care costs. Similarly, Iceland's policies benefiting working parents are one reason why the country has the highest female labor force participation rate among the countries tracked by the OECD, according to Bloomberg.

☆ Over 2 million workers are missing from the US workforce. Here's how they're paying their bills.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Madison Hoff | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

There are over two million workers missing from the US labor force, per Bank of America Institute. They can thank gig work, living with others who are earning money, and excess savings or stimulus money during the pandemic. "There's no single driver that's really causing people not returning back to the labor force," Zhou told Insider. Below are different ways these "missing workers" from the labor force may still be affording expenses and paying bills. The "financial buffer" that some of these missing workers may be relying on could be a "temporary reason" they left.

☆ The US economy has been 'more than fine' without your student debt
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Her story shows the extra juice that delaying — or as some would argue, canceling — student debt can provide to people's lives and the economy as a whole. "If we cancel student debt, what that really means is the federal government is choosing not to collect payments from debtors on the debt that's already issued," Steinbaum said. Biden's student loan bailout will cost every taxpayer, even those who never went to college, at least $2,500." But to be clear, we don't have the most concrete data about the effects of student loan relief — since, well, it hasn't been done. Do you have a story to share about student debt?

☆ Boomers Greed Ruined Economy for Gen Z, Millennials
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Alex Yablon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

The boomers' economy is brittle, stingy, and built on undersupply. While inflation may be cooling a bit, future prosperity for millennials, Gen Zers, and beyond depends on reversing this economywide bottleneck created by boomers. Boomers shrank the labor force they need nowThe baby boomers ensured the labor market of the generations after them would be inadequate in a few major ways. The boomer ethos on housing, which views homes not as places to live but as financial assets, is mirrored in the rest of the economy boomers made. They make loans, investment, and housing more expensive — putting the economy on a diet instead of growing the pie.

☆ U.S. Commerce to ask companies seeking chips funding to provide childcare for employees
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. Commerce Department said on Monday it plans to ask companies seeking at least $150 million in funding from a $52 billion semiconductor law to submit a plan for how they will provide affordable childcare for their workers. Commerce cited data that a lack of affordable and accessible childcare "is one of the largest constraints keeping Americans - and especially women" - out of the labor workforce in making the case that companies getting chips funding should show how they will provide affordable childcare. The provision that companies receiving CHIPS money provide childcare for workers is an important component." On Tuesday, the Commerce Department will release the first funding opportunity. Commerce said last year chips companies awards will be "no larger than is necessary to ensure the project happens here in the United States" and will discourage "race-to-the-bottom subsidy competitions between states and localities."

☆ Op-ed: The calm before the storm – These 3 drivers will dictate the landing ahead for the U.S. economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Rebecca Patterson | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The approach of those storms seems an appropriate analogy to the U.S. economic outlook today. Investors today are keenly focused on what kind of economic landing the U.S. will have and how best to position for different outcomes. That's critical for the broader growth outlook, given that consumption represents around two-thirds of the economy. While many U.S. firms are expressing their nervousness about the economic outlook, they are at the same time still seeking to hire. A negative feedback loop would likely ensue, with less income weighing on spending and less spending making companies more cautious.

☆ The Biden administration's recent ultimatum to chipmakers is the first step for a grander plan designed to give more workers affordable childcare
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Firms that want a shot at the $39 billion have to show that workers will have access to childcare. "That's why we're requiring companies that receive funding to tell us how they plan to provide affordable child care for workers." As Insider's Avery Hartmans reported, offering affordable childcare is one solid way for firms to attract young workers in a tight labor market. "Women are not able to answer the help wanted ad if they don't have steady, affordable childcare, because they know they can't be reliable, productive employees," Raimondo previously told Insider. Critics of the practice often point to firms prioritizing their own market value over spending that money on salaries or workers.

☆ Premarket stocks: Bad sign for stocks: Bond yields are white hot again
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The recent global bond rally appears to be tapering off as investors are getting a cold wet dose of reality about Fed rate hikes. Bonds compete with stocks for investors’ dollars, and when yields go up, equities often go down. That tonal shift has sent stocks lower and Treasury yields higher, as investors rethink their views on the path of interest rates. The Federal Reserve’s efforts to date to bring down inflation while maintaining a strong labor market appear achievable, she added. “As a result, although Fed rate hikes could slow the labor market in the coming months, we think labor supply faces persistent headwinds in the longer run.”

"We've been talking about impending recession for several quarters now," said Malone, whose Virginia Beach-based company has a national footprint. So has unexpectedly strong consumer spending and, for the world outlook, the reopening of China's economy from strict COVID lockdowns. That poured cold water on the idea that the Fed would "pivot" on a dime to lower rates. "Government bond yields are up" since the last Fed policy meeting, Durham wrote. "It kind of seems the U.S. economy might be more resilient than markets thought six or eight weeks ago."

☆ Long Covid disabled them. Then they met a ‘broken’ Social Security disability process
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Morgan Stephens | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

And two Congressional bills addressing the long Covid crisis — The “Covid-19 Long Haulers Act,” which would’ve collected data on long Covid patients with the goal of creating better care and treatment, and “The Care For Long Covid Act” would’ve improved research, centralized data and resources for people with Long Covid — died without making it out of committee. Disabled by long Covid since March 2020, she lives with her spouse and their 7-year-old son in Portland, Ore. “We didn’t design our life to be a single-income household.”Other long Covid patients have rearranged their finances, too. His company’s private long-term disability insurance pays a smaller percentage of the monthly benefit payout when federal disability pays a portion. “They’re not only dealing with long Covid complications, but they’re dealing with financial complications,” she said of her clients.

☆ A Chinese city is offering couples almost $2,900 to have a third child and some others are giving newlyweds paid marriage leave to help boost the birth rate
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Chinese city of Hangzhou is giving $2,900 to parents welcoming a third child this year. Some other cities are giving almost 30 days of marriage leave to boost the birth rate. Meanwhile, the northeastern city of Shenyang is offering subsidies of up to $72 a month till a child is three years old. Chinese employees are typically entitled to three days of paid marriage leave. The push for babies comes after China's population started shrinking for the first time in six decades.

☆ Reaching maximum employment will help close the racial wealth gap, says Howard University economics professor William Spriggs
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Macklin Fishman | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Reaching maximum employment will help close the racial wealth gap, according to AFL-CIO chief economist and Howard University economics professor William Spriggs. In an interview with CNBC, Spriggs said the impact of discrimination against Black employees is less acute when the labor market operates at full employment. "When we have a really poor labor market, white high school dropouts do better than Black people with associate degrees," Spriggs explained. While Black Americans do withdraw from the labor market when the market collapses, Spriggs said this is not always reflected in the data on Black labor force participation. Implicit bias can also affect economic data and policy by dictating the questions that analysts ask, Spriggs said.

☆ Ancient bodies found in Mexico City show shared Catholic, pre-Hispanic graves
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History/Handout via REUTERSMEXICO CITY, Feb 21 (Reuters) - The remains of 28 human bodies buried at least four hundred years ago in Mexico indicate the comingling of pre-Hispanic and Catholic cultures that Spanish colonizers introduced, local researchers told Reuters. The discovery took place during the construction of a scenic pavilion in Mexico City's Chapultepec park in February, when researchers stumbled across a cemetery from the early viceregal period of 1521 to 1620 AD. Maria de Lourdes Lopez Camacho, the head of archeological salvage and National History Museum, said what is most striking is that, although the bodies originate from distinct populations, they were buried in the same period. Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) led the study. Reporting by Carlos Carillo; Writing by Carolina Pulice; Editing by Josie KaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ India, soon world's most populous nation, doesn't know how many people it has
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Students come out after appearing in the Bihar Board class 10th examination at Bankipur Girl's High School on Feb. 14, 2023 in Patna, India. Santosh Kumar | Hindustan Times | Getty ImagesIn two months, India is projected to become the world's most populous country with over 1.4 billion people. "In the absence of latest census data, the estimations are based on data that is one decade old and is likely to provide estimates that are far from reality," Sharma said. The office of the Registrar General of India, which is responsible for the census, did not respond to a request for comment. Teachers' travailsThe United Nations has projected India's population could touch 1,425,775,850 on April 14, overtaking China on that day.

☆ China’s Demographic Balloon Is Rapidly Losing Altitude
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Nathaniel Taplin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

China’s declining population means fewer workers for its low-cost manufacturing model, but there are other ramifications as well. Beijing has spent the past week needling Washington over the forcible deflation and subsequent crash of a certain balloon. But a different sort of leakage should worry Beijing much more: China’s population fell outright last year for the first time since the early 1960s. The threat posed by China’s declining labor force to its low-cost manufacturing model is well understood. But worsening demographics could strike at the heart of China’s development strategy in another way as well: by eating away at the savings it needs to finance its expansive industrial policy and research juggernaut.

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