FEATURED POST
The Employee Motivation and Commitment Index fell slightly in March, dropping two points to 127.

March 18, 2025

Employee sentiment dips in March

The EMC Index, which tracks how people think and feel about their jobs, fell slightly in March. Only three of the 10 sectors we track showed strength.
Read more
Filter by:

January 27, 2025

The age of work

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

The United States is getting older, and its workforce is aging, too. This week, ADP chief economist Nela Richardson teams up with Kai Ryssdal of Marketplace to explore what this massive demographic shift might mean for the economy and the workplace.
Read more

August 12, 2024

Main Street Macro: Wall Street threw a tantrum, but Main Street carried on

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

The deep sell-off that gripped Wall Street two weeks ago was short-lived. The volatility was triggered by a Bank of Japan rate increase that drove up the yen and rattled global markets. In the U.S., weaker-than-expected jobs data piled on, stoking fears of a recession and extending the market downturn.
Read more

August 5, 2024

Main Street Macro: It’s too soon to talk about a hard landing

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

In the days leading up to last week’s July jobs reports, positive GDP and inflation news had boosted investor confidence that a soft landing of the U.S. economy was not only achievable, but also close at hand.
Read more

July 29, 2024

Main Street Macro: Watching for signs of a rate cut? Keep an eye on these data sets

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

Sometimes the numbers speak for themselves. And for a data-driven Federal Reserve, this week’s cacophony of labor market releases will help shape the timing and duration of future rate cuts. As such, economists and market watchers will be paying close attention to nonfarm payrolls, the unemployment rate, and average hourly earnings when they’re released Friday. But there’s much more to this job market than these headline releases. To know what’s really going on in hiring, here are three other data sets worth watching.
Read more

July 22, 2024

Main Street Macro: The next Fed rate cut might disappoint. Here’s why.

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

The recent slowdown in inflation has left market watchers more confident that Federal Reserve policymakers will cut interest rates at least once this year. What’s harder to predict is how those rate cuts might affect the economy.
Read more

March 4, 2024

Main Street Macro: What non-economists get wrong

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

Economists sometimes get their forecasts wrong. First, we say inflation will be transitory. Then we say there will be a soft – no, wait! – a hard landing. A recession! Or maybe, definitely, a soft landing.
Read more

February 26, 2024

Main Street Macro: The shrinking work week

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

Are you working fewer hours now than you did before the pandemic? If the answer is yes, you have a lot of company.
Read more

February 20, 2024

Main Street Macro: Spring means homebuyers—and a big test of inflation

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

This year, the spring housing market will be watched closely by more than just would-be buyers. Investors, economists, and monetary policymakers also are eying listings in both the inventory-starved for-sale market and the rental market. Here are three reasons why.
Read more