The ISM Services Purchasing Managers Index helps determine the overall economic strength of the services sector. Components evaluated are employment, business activity, new orders, and supplier deliveries, which are then compiled into an index. The services sector represents a much larger share of the overall U.S. economy when compared to the manufacturing sector, making up approximately 80% of it; the …
Initial Jobless Claims
US Initial Jobless Claims, provided by the US Department of Labor, provides underlying data on how many new people have filed for unemployment benefits in the previous week. One can gauge market conditions in the US economy around employment; as more new individuals file for unemployment benefits, fewer individuals in the economy have jobs. In normal times, this means people …
Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey
The JOLTs report is the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, which tracks several trends in evaluating the labor market. Through JOLTs, we can see voluntary and involuntary separations from employment in addition to new job openings and hires that have taken place. Job openings increased to 6.6 million in December, a 1.13% jump from the previous month. New hires …
US Initial Jobless Claims
US Initial Jobless Claims, provided by the US Department of Labor, provides underlying data on how many new people have filed for unemployment benefits in the previous week. Given this, one can gauge market conditions in the US economy concerning employment; as more new individuals file for unemployment benefits, fewer individuals in the economy have jobs. Historically, initial jobless claims …
Unemployment Rate
The US Unemployment Rate measures the percentage of total employees in the United States that are a part of the labor force but are without a job. It is one of the most widely followed indicators of the health of the US labor market and economy. Historically, the US Unemployment Rate reached as high as 10.80% in 1982 and 9.9% …
Job Openings and Labor Turnover
The JOLTs report is the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (as of February 2020) that tracks several trends in evaluating the labor market. Through JOLTs, we can see voluntary and involuntary separations from employment in addition to new job openings and hires that have taken place. Job openings from January to February have decreased by 130,000 from a rate …
Change in Nonfarm Payrolls
Nonfarm payrolls give an overview of the overall employment outlook of the US economy; nonfarm payrolls do not include those employed in agriculture because of the seasonal nature of their work. This report obtains these numbers from 142,000 businesses and government agencies to track the new jobs added in non-farming sectors of the economy. In October, the unemployment rate is …
What’s for Dinner?
For the first time since the data has been recorded, sales at restaurants and bars in the United States have eclipsed those of grocery stores. The recent jump in discretionary spending in this space has pushed wages in the restaurant and bar service industry higher recently as the labor market has tightened and demand has increased. We hear a lot …