FEATURED POST

October 7, 2024

Hiring in an age of uncertainty

There were a few data signals going into Friday’s blockbuster jobs report that many market watchers and economists missed. Layoffs, as measured by a rolling four-week average of initial jobless claims, hit their lowest level in more than a year and a half. August showed an uptick in job openings, a hint that companies were about to ramp up hiring. And September’s ADP National Employment Report suggested that a rebound in private-sector hiring was under way.
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March 25, 2024

Main Street Macro: How to catch a moving target

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

Change is a constant theme on this blog. That’s not only because the Main Street economy is always in motion, which it is, but also because big, long-in-the-making changes have begun rapidly shifting the economic landscape. For business leaders and decision-makers, it can be hard to keep up, let alone catch changing trends.
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March 18, 2024

Main Street Macro: The new geography of work ­­­

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

Anyone who has ever done any hiring knows it’s not always easy to find the right person for the job. And if you’ve been on the other side of the interview table, you know that finding the right company to work for also can be challenging, even in a good economy. This matching process between job candidates and hiring managers has changed a lot over the last four years due to the growth of remote-work arrangements.
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March 11, 2024

Main Street Macro: Missing the Mark: Trends in teacher salary

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

Teachers are a crucial part of the economy. I should know–my mom is a teacher. They’re part of the care economy, often described by economists as the workforce behind the workforce. In a new analysis, the ADP Research Institute’s Jeff Nezaj shows that even though the U.S. economy continues to add jobs at a rapid clip, the education sector is trailing behind. Here are three key findings.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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February 12, 2024

Main Street Macro: Normal? What’s that?

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

After last month’s blockbuster government jobs report, I’ve been looking for signs of a normal economy. But as economists and market watchers talk of a “new normal” and “normalization,” I’ve been wondering just what a normal economy is.
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February 5, 2024

Main Street Macro: What to do with good news?

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

Wall Street has a complicated relationship with good news, especially when interest rates are high, like they are now. Investors know that economic growth is good for their portfolios, but economic growth plus rock-bottom interests are even better.
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