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☆ Can Harris’s Economic Plans Sway Small Business Owners to Vote Democratic?
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-28 | by ( Lydia Depillis | More About Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Presidential campaigns often use the backdrop of small businesses — record stores, diners, machine shops — to emphasize their candidates’ authenticity and hometown values. In speeches and ads, Vice President Kamala Harris has sought to infuse entrepreneurship into her brand — an avowed capitalist, but for the little guy. Her economic policy platform mentions “small business” 77 times, including a section aimed at addressing owners’ needs, such as easing licensing requirements and funneling more federal contracts their way. Ms. Harris’s focus on small business isn’t completely new. She also took on the issue as vice president, visiting businesses to hand out billions of dollars in loans funded by the American Rescue Plan Act.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Donald J, ” Regina Shelton — Organizations: Gallup, Pew, American, — Locations: Berkeley, Calif

Markets in Japan and Europe showed signs of a rebound early on Tuesday following a day of selling worldwide. Credit... Ava Pellor for The New York Times

Persons: Ava Pellor Organizations: The New York Locations: Japan, Europe

☆ ‘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

☆ 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

☆ 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

☆ 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

☆ What China’s Economic Woes May Mean for the U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-26 | by ( Lydia Depillis | More About Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The news about China’s economy over the past few weeks has been daunting, to put it mildly. The country’s growth has fallen from its usual brisk 8 percent annual pace to more like 3 percent. And China’s citizens, frustrated by lengthy coronavirus lockdowns and losing confidence in the government, haven’t been able to consume their way out of the country’s pandemic-era malaise. If the world’s second-largest economy is stumbling so badly, what does that mean for the biggest? That could change, however, if China’s current shakiness deepens into a collapse that drags down an already slowing global economy.

Persons: haven’t, Wells Locations: United States, China, U.S

Competition for workers is fierce: The Wendy’s on Mr. Bellman’s drive home from work advertises wages of $18 an hour. New Hampshire is surrounded by states where the minimum wage is above $13, so if Granite State employers tried to offer substantially less, many workers could cross the border for a bigger paycheck. Paige Roberts, president and chief executive of the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce in Mississippi, said she was “nearly laughed out of a job” when she started asking members about paying the minimum wage. Faster hikes in the wage floor in the late 2010s forced up long-stagnant wages in fields like restaurants and retail. And some businesses, such as summer camps, say they are still paying the minimum wage for entry-level workers or those in training.

Persons: Bellman’s, Mr, Bellman, Paige Roberts Organizations: Granite, Jackson County Chamber of Commerce Locations: New Hampshire, Granite State, Alabama, Mississippi, Jackson County

☆ U.S. Extends Job Growth Streak Even as Economy Cools
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Lydia Depillis | More About Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The U.S. economy continued to generate sturdy employment growth in July, but it showed definite signs of cooling alongside the Federal Reserve’s battle to suppress inflation. American employers added 187,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department reported on Friday, experiencing 31 straight months of growth. The unemployment rate sank back to 3.5 percent, near a record low. Still, the report shows that most people who want to work can find jobs, keeping upward pressure on wages. Average hourly earnings rose 4.4 percent from a year earlier, slightly more than expected, and enough to give workers more spending power even as prices keep going up.

Organizations: Federal, Labor Department Locations: U.S

Cities and workplaces have been upended since the pandemic began. Some people moved from cities to suburbs. Stores and restaurants moved out of busy downtown areas. Train and bus schedules shifted. We may use your contact information to get in touch with you, and we won’t use your submission without first confirming with you that it’s OK.

Organizations: ., The New York Times

☆ Jobs Sit Empty in the Public Sector, So Unions Pitch In to Recruit
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Lydia Depillis | More About Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

At the same time, the federal infrastructure bill is supercharging demand for people to manage construction projects. That’s a victory for labor unions, which typically push for more hiring, higher wages and better benefits. In Minnesota, the vacancy rate for state government jobs rose to 11.5 percent in the 2023 fiscal year from 7.5 percent in 2019. “They understand that services are not being provided at the level that they should be provided. It’s a team effort as far as bringing fresh blood into the public service.”That was the point of the hiring fair in Minneapolis.

Persons: ”, Lee Saunders, “, It’s Organizations: American Federation of State, Municipal Employees Locations: Minnesota, American Federation of State , County, Minneapolis

☆ Airfares tumble, helping bring down overall inflation.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Lydia Depillis | More About Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Airfares took another dive last month, following a wild ride over the past year, reflecting volatile energy prices and swings in demand. Prices have dropped 18.9 percent in the year through June, or 8.1 percent between May and June, even as passenger traffic has reached record highs. Ticket prices spiked last summer as Americans planned the vacations they were denied during the pandemic. Airlines have been hiring aggressively for all positions and adding flights, bringing capacity back up to prepandemic levels. And as energy prices have moderated, ticket prices have receded as well.

Persons: Airfares Organizations: Airlines

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