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☆ Job growth slowed in July after a red-hot labor market in the first half of the year
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Madison Hoff | Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Private education and health services saw a one-month job gain of 100,000, with healthcare and social assistance seeing a gain of 87,100. Leisure and hospitality, construction, and financial activities are some of the other industries that saw job growth. Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter, told Insider Friday's report from BLS showed a slowing labor market but one that's "still very solid." Different data points before Friday's jobs report suggest that the labor market is still a strong jobs market for workers and job seekers. Pollak described the labor market as sustainable, and Bunker described it as robust. So this is still a strong, resilient, robust labor market."

Persons: payrolls, Daniel Zhao, Julia Pollak, Pollak, it's, Nick Bunker, Tuesday's, Bunker, Labor Julie Su, we're Organizations: payrolls, Service, of Labor Statistics, BLS, Friday's BLS, North America, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Labor Locations: Wall, Silicon, Friday's

The Fed last week raised its policy rate to the 5.25%-5.50% range, the 11th increase in the last 12 meetings. Core inflation is still pretty elevated," Powell said in a press conference after the end of the Fed's two-day policy meeting. We think we're going to need to hold policy at restrictive levels for some time. The Fed's policy rate influences the economy by changing what lenders charge consumers for credit card, auto, and home loans or what businesses pay on bonds or for credit lines. "Given that inflation is still sticky, they're going to end up with rates either too high or as high as they are for too long.

Persons: Antulio Bomfim, Bomfim, what's, Jerome Powell, Powell, Lindsay Owens, Thomas Simons, Howard Schneider, Dan Burns, Paul Simao Organizations: Trust Asset Management, Fed, Reuters Graphics Reuters, STAR, North Star, Open, Jefferies, Thomson Locations: U.S

☆ Wage Growth Slowed in Second Quarter, a Sign the Economy is Cooling
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Ben Casselman | More About Ben Casselman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Wage growth, by various measures, has softened in recent months, but inflation has fallen by even more. Workers are better off as a result: Pay, adjusted for inflation, rose in the second quarter for the first time in two years. The slowdown in wage growth has surprised some economists because the unemployment rate remains very low, which ordinarily would put pressure on companies to raise pay to attract and retain workers. But other evidence suggests that the labor market has softened even without a big increase in joblessness. Employers are posting fewer job openings, are adding fewer new jobs and are poaching fewer employees from competitors, all signs that demand for workers has slowed.

Persons: ”, Beth Ann Bovino, Michael Gapen Organizations: Workers, “, U.S . Bank, Fed, Bank of America Locations: joblessness

☆ China's real youth unemployment rate could actually be close to 50% - more than double the official rate
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

China's youth unemployment rate may be severely skewed, a Peking University professor wrote. While official statistics for March cited a 19.7% rate, Zhang Dandan estimated it's closer to 46.5%. According to Zhang Dandan, whose findings were recently published in the financial magazine Caixin, March's youth unemployment rate could have been as much as 46.5% when accounting for 16 million non-students not actively seeking work, Reuters reported. This is more than double that month's official 19.7% rate, as published by the National Bureau of Statistics. To be sure, the US Labor Department's unemployment rate doesn't include Americans who have stopped looking for work.

Persons: Zhang Dandan, COVID Organizations: Peking University, Service, Reuters, National Bureau of Statistics, US Labor Locations: Wall, Silicon

Both theory and past practice suggest that higher interest rates weigh on investment and consumption, crimping companies’ profit and forcing them to reduce hiring or lay off staff. It could also be that higher interest rates weigh on prices by pushing up borrowing costs and weakening financial markets, without requiring widespread layoffs. But economic forecasters have wrongly anticipated layoffs and higher unemployment for much of the past year. Until disinflation becomes less immaculate, the central bank has the unholy problem of choosing between lessons from history and those of the last 12 months. The U.S. unemployment rate dipped to 3.6% in June, the BLS announced on July 7.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Powell, There’s, Ben Winck, Francesco Guerrera, Peter Thal Larsen, Sharon Lam, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, Federal Reserve, Wall, U.S, Fed, UBS –, Bank of International, Workers, United, Refinitiv, Consumer, of Labor Statistics, BLS, Thomson Locations: U.S, United States, payrolls, Washington, London

☆ Don't give the Fed credit for crushing inflation, Nobel economist Paul Krugman says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Inflation hasn't cooled because of the Federal Reserve's interest-rate hikes, Paul Krugman says. Still, the US economy might be in worse shape today if the Fed hadn't raised rates, Krugman says. Those forces plateaued more than a year ago, but have only been reflected in recent months due to lags in inflation measures, Krugman said. "This suggests to me that the Fed may have done the right thing for the wrong reasons," Krugman said. He explained that surprisingly resilient US demand could indicate the Fed stopped the economy overheating and inflation surging by raising rates, which allowed recombobulation to relieve pricing pressures.

Persons: Paul Krugman, it's, Krugman, —, recombobulation Organizations: Service, New York Times, Fed, Princeton, MIT Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ 1 in 5 young people in China can't find a job – and that's a big problem for Xi Jinping
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-23 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

China's economy is facing perhaps its biggest challenges since a manufacturing boom sent its economy into overdrive in the last couple of decades. It's comparable to the economy young people in the US faced as they left college in the depth of the financial crisis in 2008/9. While things should get better if the economy rebounds, there's a more existential issue facing China's young people. Yet economic instability among China's young threatens to give him an unwanted headache nonetheless. There are wider existential issues facing young employees the world over, with the AI boom forcing many to completely reassess their skillset and career aspirations.

Persons: Xi Jinping, David Dollar, disenfranchisement, Xi Organizations: Service, Privacy, Reuters, Brookings Institute Locations: China, Wall, Silicon

☆ China's economic downturn is more shocking than outsiders realize, says former Chinese property mogul
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

China's economic conditions are worse than thought, Desmond Shum told The New York Times. This will result in tighter control of the firms by Beijing, as it become less secure. These factors have already caused Beijing to acro, with the People's Bank of China implementing interest rate cuts to reignite economic activity. But in Shum's view, conditions are also making the country's top brass insecure, resulting in tighter control of the nation's business landscape, especially among foreign firms. "People talk about 'deglobalization,' but the proper term is 'reglobalization minus China,'" Shum said.

Persons: Desmond Shum, Desmond Shum —, I've, Shum Organizations: New York Times, Service, People's Bank of China Locations: Beijing, Wall, Silicon, China, acro, Vietnam, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India

☆ How the writers' strike is crushing Hollywood's next generation, as job-seekers face 'skyrocketing' debt, crumbling hope, and endless hours 'just doom-scrolling LinkedIn'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Reed Alexander | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

Hollywood development and production have mostly ground to a halt amid the film and TV writers' strike. Young workers hoping to break into entertainment say the strike has made a competitive job market even tougher. Sears, who is currently unemployed, graduated this year with a master's degree in entertainment industry management from Carnegie Mellon University. Now, she's attempting what feels like a herculean feat: getting her career off the ground in the midst of a months-long Hollywood writers' strike, the first labor stoppage to grind the industry to a halt in 15 years. Contact this reporter to share your experience during the writers' strike.

Persons: Young, Delaney Sears, — there's, Sears, they've, —, Joanna Sucherman, Sucherman, Trevor Romero, Romero, Dan Green, grads, Green, Nabha, She's, Purohit, they'd, execs, he's, haven't, Kody Proctor, Proctor, he'd, We've, Reed Alexander Organizations: Hollywood, Carnegie Mellon University, Writers Guild of America, SAG, WGA, Disney, Warner Bros, JLS Media, Fox, United Talent Agency, Young Entertainment, Carnegie Mellon's Heinz College of Information Systems, Public, Savannah College of Art, Alliance, Television Producers, Paramount Pictures, Melrose, Paramount, University of Southern, North Dakota, Carnegie, E, Victoria Cheyenne Locations: California, Angeles, LA, Chicago, Fremantle, Los Angeles, Brooklyn, Georgia, Elm, Mumbai, India, University of Southern California, North, North Hollywood, Victoria, Bolivia

☆ Morning Bid: Midyear market mettle, Nike clipped
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

U.S. jobless claims posted their biggest drop in 20 months last week, first-quarter economic growth was revised higher and inflation below forecast. The Federal Reserve's favoured PCE inflation gauge for May is due for release later. The constellation of resilient growth, a tight labour market, buoyant consumer confidence and a rebounding housing market are pushing back recession fears despite sharply rising interest rates that the Fed is signalling could rise twice more. The offshore yuan hit its weakest since Nov. 4 as pressure for lower domestic interest rates builds - in contrast to the U.S. direction of travel. Events to watch for later on Friday:* U.S. May personal income, spending and PCE inflation gauge.

Persons: Mike Dolan, Federal Reserve's, Russell Organizations: Federal, Nasdaq, International Monetary Fund, Dallas Fed PCE, Chicago, PMI, University of Michigan's, Constellation Brands, Reuters Graphics, Thomson, Reuters Locations: U.S, Britain, Pakistan, Brussels

☆ Why Chinese students are taking graduation photos looking ‘more dead than alive’
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

These are graduation photos, and their theme is “being more dead than alive,” according to the accompanying caption. Urban youth unemployment is at record levels, reaching 20.8% in May, and an influx of new job seekers will only increase the competition. Li Nian, a PhD student who graduated this past week, is among those to have posted “more dead than alive” style photos. After being inspired by examples online, Li took her own graduation photos, which are funny despite the tiredness depicted. “I thought I would remember such graduation photos for the rest of my life,” she told CNN.

Persons: sprawled facedown, banister, –, Ren Yong, …, commiserate, ”, Li Nian, Li, Goldman Sachs, ” Young, lockdowns, “, can’t Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Urban, Students, Wuhan University, China’s Ministry of Education, CNN, Communist Party, Twitter, Weibo, ” Locations: Hong Kong, China, Nanjing, Spain, Italy

As Powell spoke, comments from other Fed officials showed the contours of the debate emerging at the central bank over whether further rate increases will, in fact, be needed. "If we simply press on with additional rate hikes, we could needlessly drain too much momentum from the economy," Bostic said. On monetary policy Powell kept the focus on the central bank's fight to lower inflation and said the process "has a long way to go." Despite the consensus on lowering inflation, the Fed is at a point where opinions about the need for and timing of additional interest rate increases may start to diverge. Reporting by Howard Schneider; Additional reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Dan Burns and Andrea RicciOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Jonathan Ernst WASHINGTON, Powell, ” Powell, Austan Goolsbee, Raphael Bostic, Bostic, Democrat Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Biden, Howard Schneider, Jason Lange, Dan Burns, Andrea Ricci Organizations: U.S . Federal, Financial, REUTERS, Capitol, Financial Services, Fed, Chicago Fed, Atlanta Fed, Bank, Democrat, Republican, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Silicon

[1/2] The U.S. Capitol dome is seen from the Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., April 19, 2023. Despite the consensus on lowering inflation, the Fed is also reaching a point where opinions about the need for and timing of additional interest rate increases may start to diverge. In large part that job has fallen to the Fed, but it is a central bank of Biden's making. If the current crop of nominees is approved five of seven board members would be Biden appointees. The Fed under Powell has raised interest rates faster than at any time since former Fed Chair Paul Volcker's inflation fights of the 1970s and 1980s.

Persons: Sarah Silbiger WASHINGTON, Jerome Powell, haven't, Democrat Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Philip Jefferson, Lisa Cook, Adriana Kugler, Powell, Biden, Preston Mui, Mui, Paul, Howard Schneider, Jason Lange, Dan Burns, Andrea Ricci Organizations: U.S, Russell Senate, REUTERS, . Federal, Democrat, Republican, Federal, of Governors, World Bank, Fed, Financial, America, Reuters, Biden, Trump, Black Americans, Thomson Locations: Russell, Washington , U.S, U.S, Biden's

But while the Fed in 2019 was asking "'is this as strong as the labor market can get?' Fed rate hikes could have "very significant, uneven short-term impacts" on the job market. So far headline payroll employment growth remains strong. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsWANTING IT BOTH WAYSFor now, though, the Fed might mark the pandemic labor rebound as essentially complete, despite the risks. The economy needs to create about 100,000 payroll jobs a month to keep pace with population growth.

Persons: Bryan Woolston, Michael Madowitz, Raphael Bostic, Trump, Howard Schneider, Dan Burns, Andrea Ricci Organizations: Kentucky, Center, REUTERS, . Federal Reserve, Washington Center for Equitable, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Atlanta Fed, BLS, American Progress, White House Council, Economic Advisers, Thomson Locations: Frankfort , Kentucky, U.S, Bryan Woolston WASHINGTON, COVID

☆ No job, no problem: For some, a 'funemployment' summer after quitting sounds like a perfect plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Rebecca Knight | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

"I want to take a beat and decide how I'm going to live my life," Pena, 37, told Insider. "People now have more freedom to hop in and out of the labor market," she told Insider. Wren Taylor, 35, enjoyed her summer of funemployment last year after being laid off from her corporate marketing job. "Their comments affirmed that I wasn't wasting my time," she told Insider. During job interviews, she said that all she could think about was the freedom she'd lose by going back to a traditional job.

Persons: Suzy Welch, —, Delia Pena, " Pena, Pena, she's, I'm, Gen, funemployment, Randall Peterson, who'd, Wren Taylor Wren Taylor, Julia Pollak, Pollak, Wren Taylor, they'd, I'd, Wren Organizations: NYU, Service, London Business School, ZipRecruiter, Labor Department, Catalina Locations: funemployment

☆ US house prices may slide as their recent strength and steeper mortgage rates hit demand, Wharton professor Jeremy Siegel says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Home prices may fall as recent gains and higher borrowing costs restrain demand, Jeremy Siegel says. "The higher interest rates and 40% increase in home prices more than doubled the cost of homes for buyers," the retired Wharton finance professor said in his weekly commentary for WisdomTree on Monday. "Mortgage rates had ticked down to 6% a few months ago before rising back above 7% now — so perhaps we see some renewed softness in housing prices," Siegel added. Higher interest rates translate into larger monthly mortgage payments, which mean banks are willing to lend significantly less money to homeowners today than they were a few years ago. "Shark Tank" investor Barbara Corcoran has argued there's a load of pent-up demand, and called for home prices to surge 20% once interest rates fall by two percentage points.

Persons: Jeremy Siegel, Wharton, Siegel, —, WisdomTree, joblessness, Barbara Corcoran, Jeff Greene Organizations: Service, Federal Locations: —

☆ This 36-year-old bought an abandoned house for just $1 and fully renovated it—look inside her 'dream home'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Maxine Sharples | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

In February 2020, I officially got the keys to my new home: a two-bedroom, 796-square-foot Victorian house that I bought for £1. Now the bedrooms are on the first floor, and the kitchen and living area is upstairs. Today, my house has been remodeled to maximize light and has made headlines in the U.K. for its novel use of space. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards When I started the renovations, there were crumbling bricks everywhere I looked. The open kitchen and living area is one of my favorite places in the house.

Persons: Maxine Sharples, John O'Mahony, I've Organizations: Webster, CNBC Locations: Liverpool

☆ US employers boost hiring in May; unemployment rate jumps to 3.7%
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Lucia Mutikani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The increase in the unemployment rate from a 53-year low of 3.4% in April reported by the Labor Department on Friday was mostly driven by Blacks. The backfilling of these retirements and increased demand for services are some of the factors driving job growth. Most economists expect overall payrolls growth to continue at least through the end of the year. The drop in household employment combined with a 130,000 increase in the labor force to boost the unemployment rate. The unemployment rate for blacks jumped to 5.6% from 4.7% in April.

Persons: payrolls, Sal Guatieri, Nick Bunker, Lucia Mutikani, Chizu Nomiyama, Andrea Ricci Organizations: Labor Department, Blacks, BMO Capital Markets, Fed, Reuters, Treasury, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Leisure, Writers Guild of America, Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics, Thomson Locations: WASHINGTON, U.S, Toronto, joblessness

☆ 36-year-old bought an abandoned house for $1 and fully renovated it—take a look inside: It's my 'dream home'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Maxine Sharples | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

In February 2020, I officially got the keys to my new home: a two-bedroom, 796-square-foot Victorian house that I bought for £1. Now the bedrooms are on the first floor, and the kitchen and living area is upstairs. Today, my house has been remodeled to maximize light and has made headlines in the U.K. for its novel use of space. So I moved the bedrooms to the first floor, and the kitchen and living room to the second floor. The open kitchen and living area is one of my favorite places in the house.

Persons: Maxine Sharples, John O'Mahony, I've Organizations: Webster, CNBC Locations: Liverpool

[1/3] A man looks at job information at an employment fair beside a street in Zhengzhou, Henan province, February 19, 2014. REUTERS/Jason LeeHONG KONG, June 1 (Reuters) - China's Henan province has unveiled a 100-day plan to "dynamically clear" youth unemployment as concern grows over record levels of joblessness among young adults, with millions more students due to graduate this year. The goal is to ensure "zero-dynamic clearing" for long-term unemployment and the "smooth employment of college graduates", the provincial Department of Education said in a social media post this week. Economists expect youth unemployment to become increasingly common in coming years as graduates enter the job market. The "dynamic zero clearing" term the education department used is reminiscent of the language authorities used in the fight against COVID, reflecting the level of concern about unemployment.

Persons: Jason Lee HONG, Farah Master, Robert Birsel Organizations: REUTERS, Department of Education, COVID, Thomson Locations: Zhengzhou, Henan province, Jason Lee HONG KONG, Henan, China, Beijing

☆ Morning Bid: Hot, cold and skipping a beat
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Like a patient with a virus, incoming data appears to blow hot and cold at the same time. Private sector and full national snapshots of payroll growth for May are due later today and on Friday. But a renewed rise in U.S. staff vacancies in April showed the labor market tightening again if anything - even a Chicago manufacturing survey alarmed with a sharp contraction in factory activity last month. The central bank's "Beige Book" on economic conditions said on Wednesday that the labor market "continued to be strong" in May "with contacts reporting difficulty finding workers across a wide range of skill levels and industries." U.S. Treasury yields crept back up on Thursday after the debt ceiling vote overnight and despite the mixed economic picture.

Persons: Mike Dolan, Philip Jefferson, Larry Fink, Klaas Knot, Patrick Harker, President Biden, Emelia Sithole Organizations: Federal Reserve, Fed, BlackRock, Treasury, U.S, San, Central Bank, Philadelphia Federal, Broadcom, Dollar, Hormel, Cooper Companies, Republicans, Reuters Graphics, Thomson, Reuters Locations: U.S, Chicago, Salesforce, San Francisco

☆ Gen Z isn't afraid of unemployment — and they don't trust their employers, Suzy Welch says. Her late husband Jack Welch slashed 112,000 jobs at GE.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

NYU Stern professor Suzy Welch told CNBC that "funemployment" shows a shift in how Gen Z views work. Welch said in an interview with CNBC that Gen Z — those born from mid-1990s to early 2010s — isn't afraid of unemployment like previous generations. Welch told CNBC that while Gen Z isn't promoting joblessness by choice, their perspective on the issue has shifted "far away" from that of previous generations. They think: 'We're going to be together for as long as we're together, then I'm going to be funemployed, and then I'm going to move on to my next engagement.'" However, Gen Z has indicated they're more concerned about work-life balance and less willing to put up with a toxic work culture.

☆ Gen Z isn't afraid of unemployment — and they don't trust their employers, Suzy Welch says. Her late husband, Jack Welch, slashed 112,000 jobs at General Electric.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The NYU Stern professor Suzy Welch told CNBC that "funemployment" showed a shift in how Gen Z work. Suzy Welch told CNBC that Gen Z, those born from the mid-1990s to early 2010s, wasn't afraid of unemployment like previous generations. Welch told CNBC that while Gen Z wasn't promoting joblessness by choice, their perspective on the issue had shifted "far away" from previous generations. They think: 'We're going to be together for as long as we're together, then I'm going to be funemployed, and then I'm going to move on to my next engagement.'" However, Gen Z has indicated they're more concerned about work-life balance and less willing to put up with toxic work culture.

☆ Biden says GOP must move off 'extreme' positions, and that there will be no debt limit deal solely on its 'partisan terms'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

GOP lawmakers are holding tight to demands for sharp spending cuts, rejecting the alternatives proposed by the White House for reducing deficits. GOP lawmakers are also seeking cuts to IRS funding and asking the White House to accept provisions from their proposed immigration overhaul. Republicans had also rejected White House proposals to raise revenues in order to further lower deficits. He said "the socialist wing" of the Democratic party appears to be in control, "especially with President Biden out of the country." For months, Biden had refused to engage in talks over the debt limit, insisting that Congress was trying to use the borrowing limit vote as leverage to extract other policy priorities.

☆ Analysis: How to characterize the American economy — from broken to just bizarre
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Christine Romans | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —The US economy is going from broken to bizarre. Covid crashed the American economy three years ago with no playbook for the wild recovery that would follow. And yet, the US economy today is growing, the job market is strong, and the consumer is still spending. The economy has added an astonishing 1.2 million jobs this year and the jobless rate matches the lowest since 1969. Goldman Sachs pegs recession odds at 35% and Fed Chair Jerome Powell last week said the economy could still skirt a recession.

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