Econ70

The official May unemployment rate was 13.3%, down from 14.7% in April. However, classification errors systematically lowered unemployment rates in March through May. After accounting for these errors, which the Census Bureau fully disclosed, the true unemployment rate in April…

Hotel occupancy is up for the seventh straight week, albeit from a staggeringly depressed level. For the week ending 5/30/20, US hotels enjoyed (if you can call it that) an occupancy rate of 36.6%, pushing weekly demand to about 11…

With so much fiscal and monetary stimulus coming from DC, unfounded fears of the US dollar losing its position as the world’s reserve currency have cropped up. There is no real competitor. To use metaphors, Europe is a beautiful museum,…

May’s employment growth of 2.5 million jobs, pushing unemployment to 13.3% from 14.7%, was terrific and implies hiring activity bottomed in April – a month earlier than expected – and the rise in the employment-to-population ratio from 51.3% to 52.8%…

The Friday File: The number of wisdom teeth removed in the US is 10,000,000/year! And with generally two teeth extracted at a time, that means 5,000,000 surgeries. At an average cost of $500/exodontia, that adds up to $5 billion/year. Separately,…

Fannie and Freddie are trying to do three things simultaneously; raise and protect their capital, generate a good rate of return for future investors, and in the public policy sphere, boost affordable housing and protect taxpayers. The problem, they can…

Earlier today, mortgage purchase applications came in higher for the seventh week in a row and are now up 18% Y-o-Y. May private payrolls fell by a terrible 2.76 million but well below the horrendous 9 million expected! Moreover, oil…

In 2019, US live births totaled 3,745,540, down 1% from 2018, declining for the fifth year in a row. They are at a 35-year low despite good economic growth during that period. Birthrates declined for females under 34, were flat…

After first reaching a high of 2,000 active US crude oil and natural gas rigs in early 2008 and then again in late 2011, the number of active rigs last week fell to just 318, breaking the record low of…

The Friday File: While only 38% of eggs are consumed outside the home, in places like restaurants and schools, 54% of pork and beef are eaten in such places. That percentage rises to 59% for turkey and 60% for chicken.…