Archive for June 2017

Despite just 138,000 net new May jobs and downward revisions to March and April, US job growth is solid and well above the level needed to absorb new job entrants. To wit, the unemployment rate fell to 4.3%, the lowest rate since 5/01. But weak wage growth and weak inflationary pressures suggest that the unemployment…

The Friday File: It’s known that sunset is much earlier on the eastern edge of a time zone than the western edge. Separately, research shows people sleep longer when the sun sets earlier and more sleep is thought to improve job performance. Indeed, a one-hour increase in total weekly sleep in a location boosts wages…

In 2000, when e-commerce was 1% of retail sales, department store employment was 1.8 million. Today, e-commerce sales are 8.5% of retail sales and department store employment is 1.3 million. During the same period, employment at non-store retailers rose from 425,000 to 560,000. Less than 30% of retail jobs lost are created by online retailers!…