Wall Street Journal (May 12)
“Job satisfaction hit a 36-year high in 2022, reflecting two effects of the tight pandemic labor market: The quality of jobs improved as wages and work flexibility increased, and workers moved into positions that were a better fit.” The Conference Board found that worker satisfaction increased from 56.8% in 2020 to 62.3% in 2022.”
Tags: 2022, Conference Board, Flexibility, Job satisfaction, Labor market, Pandemic, Quality, Wages, Work
Forbes (April 8)
“Job cuts are approaching levels not seen since the pandemic began in 2020, as major cuts in the technology and financial industries are starting to show their impact on the economy and soften the labor market.”
Tags: 2020, Economy, Financial industry, Impact, Job cuts, Labor market, Pandemic, Technology
New York Times (February 2)
The “disconnect” between cautious Fed statements and “investor expectations” is rooted in the tension between current data and projections. “Many forecasters expect the labor market, as well as inflation in many kinds of services, to weaken this year as the full effect of the Fed’s rate moves plays out; the Fed, on the other hand, is waiting for clearer signs in the data.”
Tags: Data, Disconnect, Expectations, Fed, Forecasters, Inflation, Investor, Labor market, Projections, Rates, Services, Tension
Bloomberg (November 25)
“Since the Brexit vote in 2016, the UK government is yet to deliver major legislative change with significant benefits for businesses. Instead, companies have had to grapple with higher paperwork costs on trade, a tighter labor market spurred by a reduction in EU migration and a weaker pound increasing import costs. Brexit has also had a political cost of aggravating tensions in Northern Ireland and hurting diplomatic relations with the EU.”
Tags: Benefits, Brexit, Businesses, Costs, EU, Government, Import, Labor market, Migration, Northern Ireland, Paperwork, Pound, Trade, UK, Weaker
New York Times (December 18)
“Rising Covid-19 cases are taking a steep toll on economic activity, battering the labor market even as new vaccines offer a ray of hope for next year.” After dropping earlier in autumn, jobless claims “have moved higher, and they remain at levels that dwarf the pace of past recessions.” New restrictions are hammering “the hospitality industry, lodging, airlines and other service businesses…. Until mass inoculations begin next year, the economy will remain under pressure.”
Tags: Airlines, Battering, COVID-19, Economic activity, Hope, Hospitality, Jobless claims, Labor market, Lodging, Recessions, Restrictions, Toll, Vaccines
Wall Street Journal (November 13)
The “booming” labor market has been the “Crown Jewel of Japan’s economy,” but it appears to be “losing its shine.” It now looks like the labor market “peaked even before the ill-considered sales-tax hike in October…. The shine is now coming off, with economic forces at home and abroad weighing on the employment gains made.”
Tags: Booming, Economy, Employment, Gains, Japan, Labor market, Peaked, Sales-tax hike
USA Today (August 21)
“The labor market seemed to defy gravity last year, generating more than 200,000 jobs a month despite a historically low unemployment rate that made it harder for employers to find workers. Turns out job growth wasn’t as robust as it appeared.” The Labor Department just issued its “largest downward revision in a decade.” Total job gains in the year ended March 2019 were revised downward by half a million. Based on this average monthly job growth was closer to 170,000, than the initial estimates of 210,000.
Tags: Defy, Employers, Gravity, Job growth, Labor Department, Labor market, Unemployment rate, Workers
Bloomberg (August 14)
“The last time Japan strung together this many quarters of growth was back in mid-2006…. The yen has fallen, corporate profits have soared and the economy is running above its potential growth rate. Yet inflation remains stubbornly low, despite massive monetary stimulus from the central bank. Economists are watching intently for signs that the tightest labor market in decades is beginning to bring wage gains.”
Tags: Central bank, Economists, Economy, Inflation, Japan. Growth, Labor market, Monetary stimulus, Profits, Wage gains, Yen
Bloomberg (August 3)
“Something may be stirring deep within Japan’s labor market. The country’s aging and shrinking population is traditionally thought of as a deflationary factor, driving down potential growth. Yet after years of resisting wage hikes, companies are starting to recognize the need to lock in staff before they literally disappear.”0
Tags: Aging, Deflationary, Growth, Japan, Labor market, Population, Shrinking, Staff, Wage hikes
The Economist (July 30)
When it comes to the three arrows of Abenomics, “the prevailing view is that none has hit home. Headline inflation was negative in the year to May. Japan’s public debt looks as bad as ever. In areas such as labour-market reform, nowhere near enough has been done.”
Tags: Abenomics, Inflation, Japan, Labor market, Public debt, Reform, Three arrows
