FEATURED POST
November 25, 2024
The inflation Grinch
This week marks the official kickoff of the holiday season. In any given year, about 20 percent of annual retail sales are wrapped up in the weeks between Thanksgiving and New Years Day. The National Retail Federation expects 2024 to deliver the strongest holiday shopping season on record. Consumers are projected to increase their spending by more than $25 per person to a total of $902, $16 higher than the previous record set in 2019.
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May 3, 2021
MainStreet Macro: The Global Workforce Speaks
We’ve spent much of MainStreet Macro’s first four months tracking the economic recovery and unprecedented changes in employment due to the coronavirus pandemic.
This week, we shift gears to hear from workers themselves about how their attitudes and lives have adjusted.
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April 26, 2021
MainStreet Macro: Three lessons from history
This is a busy week for the economy. Not only are key members of the Federal Reserve meeting to discuss the hot topic of inflation, we’ll also get a report card on economic growth in the first quarter. What happens next for the economy is uncharted. We’ve never seen such a collision of low interest rates, massive fiscal stimulus, easy money and wealth disparity. We don’t know if the vigorous pace of growth will continue in the second half of the year, or even whether all sectors can recover if it does.
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April 19, 2021
MainStreet Macro: Why can’t we just print more money?
This week, I have a timely and thoughtful question from a 10-year old viewer, Caleb: “Ms. Nela, could you share with us why we can’t just print more money to fix the economy?”
Well, Caleb, that’s a very good question, one that’s of particular importance to Main Street right now.
When it comes to printing money and fixing the economy, there are three things to know.
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April 12, 2021
MainStreet Macro: Is the glass half full or half empty?
by Nela Richardson, Ph.D
We’ve seen a lot of good news on the economic front, from local jobs to global growth. Yet many Main Streeters are still living with the pandemic’s destruction to their businesses, jobs and health. This begs the question: Is the economic recovery a glass half full or half empty?
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April 5, 2021
MainStreet Macro: Location, location, location (and jobs)
by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.
Ask any real estate pro and they'll tell you there are three essentials to selling a property – location, location, location. Well, that may be changing. Location trends long in the making accelerated over the past year due to the pandemic and the newfound mobility of the workforce will have an impact on the housing market. Last month, the economy recovered 916,000 jobs, winnowing away our deficit of 8.4 million jobs, with the bulk of them in services. As we look forward to more hiring in coming months, let’s dig into how the geography of work--and life--is changing.
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March 29, 2021
MainStreet Macro: What’s next for small businesses?
Last week, the ADP Research Institute looked at how the first two months of the COVID-19 pandemic affected U.S. employment one year later. During the 2020 lockdown in March and April, the U.S. lost 20 million jobs, or about 15% of total employment. This week we review what's next for small businesses.
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March 23, 2021
COVID-19 Toll On US Employment: One Year Look Back
by ADP Research
As of March 2021, it has been one full year following the mandatory lockdowns in US economy to stop the spread of COVID-19. Here's a look at the impact on US Employment over the last year.
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March 22, 2021
MainStreet Macro: Running Hot and Cold
In the month of March, it’s hard to know which coat to wear. Will the weather be on the warm side or the cool side? That question also can be asked of the economy right now. As Main Street transitions from a pandemic-oppressed winter to a vaccine-liberated spring, is the economy running hot or cold?
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