Manufacturing in February: Rapid Growth Checked by Supply Hurdles

According to the ISM, U.S. industry is still bedeviled by supply inconsistencies despite growing production and demand. Data from the Institute for Supply Management show that the manufacturing sector grew in February at a faster rate than it had in January. The ISM’s Purchasing Manager’s Index hit 60.8, 2.1 points higher than January’s 58.7. ARead More

January Manufacturing Sustains Growth, Supply Difficulties

The Industry for Supply Management’s manufacturing index fell to 58.7%. Ryan Secard FEB 02, 2021 The manufacturing sector continued growing for an eighth straight month in January as the Institute for Supply Management’s Purchasing Manager’s Index for sector growth fell 1.8 points to 58.7% compared to December. The overall economy also grew, sustaining a parallelRead More

US wages rise by 4% in fourth quarter, but loss of low-wage jobs affects average

Released on January 27, 2021 US workers’ wages rose by 4.4% in the fourth quarter with the average wage rising by $1.27 to $30.19 per hour, according to the ADP Research Institute’s Workforce Vitality report. But a look behind the number tells a different story. Average wage growth is higher than expected because of significantRead More

IT employment rises in December, continuing recovery

Released on January 20, 2021 IT employment rose by 0.5% to more than 5.2 million jobs in December compared to November, according to a report released Tuesday by the TechServe Alliance, a national trade association of IT and engineering staffing and solutions industry. While IT employment still remains down 2.08% on a year-over-year basis, TechServeRead More

76% of US companies say hiring demand will return to pre-pandemic levels this year: Study

Released on January 21, 2021 Hiring demand will approach, return to or exceed pre-pandemic levels this year, according to the 2021 Future of Recruiting Study published by CareerArc, a provider of a social recruiting platform. Of companies surveyed, 76% believe hiring demand will return this year. CareerArc’s survey also discovered that companies are most concernedRead More

Move by White House stops rule on independent contractor classification (National Law Review)

Released on January 25, 2021 The White House issued a memorandum asking agencies to stop all non-emergency rulemaking and regulatory activity pending review by the new administration; the memo will in effect do away with a final rule on independent contractor classification, the National Law Review reported. The rule would have made it easier for companies inRead More

Bah Humbug on the ‘Doom and Gloomers’

Posted by Alan Beaulieu on Dec 23, 2020 10:40:23 AM Here Are Two Reasons Why The headlines trumpeted that Retail Sales fell in November, a move that many did not see coming. For the record, Retail Sales are on track with our forecast. The concern raised by others regarding November’s drop is that consumers have pulled back,Read More

BLS Employment Situation Report: December 2020

Total nonfarm payroll employment in December declined by 140,000 in December, well below the consensus forecast of a job gain of 45,000. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.7 percent or 10.7 million unemployed persons. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) noted in today’s release that both unemployment measures are much lower than their AprilRead More

Economists Predict Sharp Slowdown Before Outlook Brightens Considerably

BY EMEL AKAN January 14, 2021 Updated: January 14, 2021 WASHINGTON—Economists are forecasting a strong recovery this year but warn of a sharp drop in economic activity in the first quarter before it builds momentum following the winter. The U.S. economy will grow at 3.9 percent over the four quarters of 2021, according to the latest estimates by theRead More