U.S. workers received their biggest pay increases in nearly a decade over the 12 months through June, a sign the strong labor market is boosting wages as employers compete for scarcer workers. The Labor Department’s employment-cost index rose 2.8% in the year to June compared, the government said Tuesday. Wages and salaries, which account for […]
The U.S. trade deficit expanded in June at the fastest rate since November 2016, driven by a stronger dollar and buoyant economic growth. The trade deficit in goods and services increased 7.3% in June from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted $46.35 billion, the Commerce Department said Friday. Exports fell 0.7% from May, while […]
U.S. hiring cooled but remained solid in July and the unemployment rate fell, showing the labor market remains firmly in expansion mode. U.S. nonfarm payrolls rose a seasonally adjusted 157,000 in July, the Labor Department said Friday. The unemployment rate, a seasonally adjusted 3.9%, ticked down from 4.0% the prior month. (Follow our live analysis.) […]
For the first time in six years, the share of U.S. workers offered health insurance through their employer has risen, a sign a tighter labor market is prompting businesses to offer more generous benefits. In March, 69% of private-sector employees were offered medical benefits from their employer, according to an annual survey the Labor Department […]
Chinese real-estate investors, facing pressure from Beijing, are reversing a yearslong buying spree in the U.S. where they often paid record prices for marquee properties like New York’s Waldorf Astoria hotel. Chinese insurers, conglomerates, and other investors have turned net sellers of U.S. commercial real estate for the first time in a decade. They have […]
The U.S. economy grew at the strongest pace in nearly four years during the second quarter, powered by a rebound in consumer spending, strong exports and firm business investment. Gross domestic product—the value of all goods and services produced across the economy—rose at a seasonally and inflation-adjusted annual rate of 4.1% from April through June, […]
There are now 487 electric-vehicle makers in China, according to the latest official tally, and most are brand new. In June, the National Development and Reform Commission and China Construction Bank announced a new $47 billion fund for EVs and other high-tech industries. Regional governments are making similar funding commitments. Direct government subsidies on electric-vehicle […]
White House economists have identified a potential stumbling block to maintaining the U.S. economy’s momentum: a lack of well-trained workers. The economy appears poised to expand this year at the fastest clip since the recession ended in 2009. That has allowed employers to extend their streak of consistent hiring, which began in 2010, and push […]
Lawmakers are working on the biggest changes to U.S. retirement savings in more than a decade, exploring several proposals that could make it easier for small companies to offer 401(k) plans and for workers to guarantee themselves an annual income after they retire. The efforts start with a bipartisan Senate bill and House Republicans’ plan […]
The manufacturing sector staged a quick turnaround in June after a fire at the plant of a Ford pickup-truck supplier knocked output lower the previous month, extending a solid run of growth for U.S. industrial activity. The fire, which occurred May 2 at a parts plant in Michigan operated by a unit of China’s Wanfeng […]
As far back as the industrial revolution, major innovations have traveled swiftly from company to company and industry to industry, an economy-boosting phenomenon called diffusion. Today, there is mounting evidence this engine of growth seems to be misfiring, a phenomenon some economists say helps explain the slowdown in productivity growth bedeviling developed economies. Productivity, usually […]
The number of Americans claiming new unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level in nearly five decades. Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs across the U.S., decreased by 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 207,000 in the week ended July 14, the Labor Department said Thursday. This marks the lowest level for claims […]
If you’re looking for the most accurate view of economic growth, you won’t find it in the government’s top-line statistics. Last month the Bureau of Economic Analysis revised its estimate for the first quarter of 2018; the BEA now says gross domestic product grew 2%, annualized, down from the previous figure of 2.2%. This dramatically […]
The concept of a universal basic income, or UBI, has become part of the moral armor of Silicon Valley moguls who want a socially conscious defense against the charge that technology is making humanity obsolete. The logic of UBI runs that if every adult received $12,000 annually in free, unfettered cash, then we would not […]
Tesla Inc. will build a factory in Shanghai, the city government announced on Tuesday, a move expected to boost sales in the world’s largest auto market but one that could also draw fire as U.S. manufacturers face political pressure to keep jobs at home. The electric-car maker will set up a plant with an annual […]