Econ70

In 1981, the median age of a first-time home buyer was 29, and the average age of a repeat buyer was 36. In 2001, the median ages were, respectively, 32 and 45. In 2022, during the Covid pandemic, and after…

In 10/22, 63% of economists thought there would be a recession within 12 months. In 1/23, the percentage fell to 61%, where it remained in 4/23. In 7/23, it fell to 54%, and in 10/23 it declined to 48%, sub-50%!…

The winners of the 2024 federal elections will face consequential decisions regarding whether to extend Trump’s tax cuts that expire after 2025. Republicans wish to extend them, costing Treasury $4 trillion over a decade. Democrats propose extending the cuts to…

For office workers, 5.6% of full-time and hybrid workers received a promotion in 2023, compared to 3.9% for fully remote employees, with no difference in promotion rates between hybrid and full-time. Relatedly, female software engineers at Fortune 500 firms who…

The Friday File: In 2019, The NFL generated revenues of $15.3 billion, Major Leage Baseball $10.7 billion, the NBA $8.8 billion, and the English Premier (Soccer) League $6.6 billion. These are the world’s four largest revenue generating professional leagues. However,…

Pre-Covid, shrink (a fancy word for retail store theft) was about $50 billion/year and 1.4% of retail sales. In 2021, shrink rose to $94 billion but declined to 1.4% of retail sales with less in-person shopping. Since then, it’s steadily…

For the year ending 11/23, construction spending totaled $2.05 trillion, 7.3% of GDP, and is up 11.3% Y-o-Y. Total private construction was $1.59 trillion, up 10% largely due to private manufacturing which totaled $209 billion, up from $131 billion Y-o-Y,…

Repeated Revisions Through November, 10 of 11 monthly employment reports have been revised down. In CY2008, a recession year, 11 were downwardly revised. Conversely in CY2021, a boom year, 11 were revised up. Two things are occurring. A strengthening economy…

With December job creation at a solid 216,000, unemployment unchanged at a low 3.7%, the labor force participation rate sinking to 62.5% from 62.8%, December wage growth up a disappointingly strong 0.44% and Y-o-Y growth too strong at 4.1%, this…

The Friday File: Previously it was believed that having more money made you happier, up to about $75,000/year. Recent research has overturned that thinking. Research now shows that if you are an unhappy person, happiness increases with income till about…