New York Times (March 11)
President Trump “may want to take credit for the 235,000 jobs created last month, but at this early stage of his administration, the tally reflects trends established under President Obama.” Trump has been dealt a very good hand. After adding an average of 200,000 jobs monthly during the last year, “the economy is steadily progressing toward full employment.” Mr. Trump’s challenge is whether “his policies foster the trend, or derail it?”
New York Times (February 21)
“While not as dangerous as protectionism and xenophobia,” blaming robots for job losses and economic disruption “is also a distraction from real problems and real solutions.” We’ve been through this before. “Automation is the hero of the story in good times and the villain in bad. Since today’s middle class is in the midst of a prolonged period of wage stagnation, it is especially vulnerable to blame-the-robot rhetoric.” Bad policies can result in disruption, but economic history has repeatedly shown “that automation not only substitutes for human labor, it complements it. The disappearance of some jobs and industries gives rise to others.”
Tags: Automation, Dangerous, Disruption, Jobs, Labor, Protectionism, Robots, Wage stagnation, Xenophobia
Newsweek (February 8)
“A hard “Brexit could threaten 30,000 jobs in London’s world-class finance sector,” according to a recent report, if the firms “lose their ‘passport’ to operate across the EU.” Of course, nobody will really know until Brexit transpires, but the same study suggests “17 percent of all U.K. banking assets might be on the move as a result of Brexit” and the U.K.’s share of the European financial services market could contract from the current 90% to around 60%.
Chicago Tribune (November 17)
Despite his “nasty campaign bluster,” elements of Donald Trump’s “economic plan could boost growth and standards of living here and nationwide. This is potentially good news for millions of jobs-starved Americans.” But the devil is in the details. “There are yuuuuge caveats. Trump has not been good on details, he’s a serial exaggerator, and he’s completely out to sea in his insistence that America has the option to unplug from global trade. He also pays little heed to the nation’s $20 trillion debt, the looming threat of Social Security insolvency and Medicare’s unsustainable cost trajectory.” Still, the country could benefit from having someone who’s a “business guy and dealmaker at heart” in the White House.
Tags: Bluster, Campaign, Caveats, Details, Economic plan, Exaggerator, Global trade, Growth, Jobs, Living standards, Medicare, Nasty, Social security, Trump
Wall Street Journal (November 9)
“Donald J. Trump’s unlikely defeat of Hillary Clinton is a political earthquake of a kind that rarely disturbs American politics.” The President-Elect “will now need to pick smart advisers and show generosity in victory” as he “lacks political experience” and his “convictions on public policy are especially elusive.” He has “a chance to succeed if he follows through on his pledge to prioritize the economic growth that creates jobs and lifts incomes for all Americans.” He will need to “govern differently than he campaigned.” He will need to “discover a more optimistic and inclusive politics. Or so we can hope, if only for comity and the good of the country.”
Tags: Advisers, Clinton, Convictions, Earthquake, Experience, Generosity, Growth, Inclusive, Incomes, Jobs, Optimistic, Policy, Trump, U.S., Victory
LA Times (August 28)
The U.S. is undergoing de-masculinization. “Our gender turfs were once distinct—women never grabbed a grease gun, nor men a flour sifter. But they become more intermingled with each passing year.” There are now more female drivers than male drivers. Stay-at-home dads, rather than moms, are now present in over 2 million homes. And “women are now the majority of top-performing college students headed toward jobs in middle and upper management.”
Tags: De-masculinization, Drivers, Gender, Jobs, Management, Men, Stay-at-home, U.S., Women
Washington Post (March 9)
“Is the U.S. economy stronger than we think? Perhaps. A persisting puzzle about its recent performance is the stark contrast between growth of jobs (which has been unexpectedly robust) and the growth of the economy’s output (which has been unexpectedly weak).” It’s possible that economic output is being “consistently undercounted.”
Tags: Economy, Growth, Jobs, Performance, Puzzle, Robust. Output, U.S., Undercounted
Wall Street Journal (October 1)
The peak car theory that millennials no longer want cars cars “may seem plausible given recent history: tepid new-car sales, fewer miles driven per capita and shrinking gasoline use. In reality, it’s poppycock.” This temporary phenomenon merely “reflected a lack of jobs and money.” Today, that’s changing. “The forecasts of peak car look to be about as accurate as those of peak oil.”
Washington Post (June 16)
“U.S. employers now have more job openings than ever previously recorded,” but there’s a catch. “The average time required to fill a job opening has also just reached an all-time high: 27.3 days, or almost a month,” and it’s over 2 months (64 days) at the biggest companies. Unfortunately, nobody’s sure of the reason behind this or the implications the lag may have for the employment picture or, indeed, the overall economy.” Knowing why might explain why salaries aren’t going up, when they might or if they will.
USA Today (May 8)
Though it may seem preposterous, a labor shortage will strike the U.S. “America is about to run short of workers for the simple reason that people are retiring.” In the coming decade, the retirement age population is expected to expand by 37.8% while the working age population will only increase by 3.2%. Those set to retire “will leave jobs while continuing to buy things—food, shelter, haircuts, airplane tickets health care and more—which will have to be produced by the remaining workforce.”
