Federal Reserve policies launched in a historic economic slump may have exacerbated wealth disparities in the U.S., according to new research from the Philadelphia Fed.
Broadly speaking, the high level of part-time workers now found in the economy make improvements in the jobless rate look better than it actually is. The unemployment rate, one of the most important indicators of the nation’s economic health, has undergone a rapid decline in recent years. After peaking at nearly 10% in the spring of 2010, it now stands at 5.5%.
The survey showed 70% of CEOs expect sales to increase in the next six months, down from 80% in the first-quarter survey and the lowest level since 2012. Only 35% plan to increase capital spending, down from 45%, and 34% plan to boost hiring, down from 40%.
Major insurers in some states are proposing hefty rate boosts for plans sold under the federal health law, setting the stage for an intense debate this summer over the law’s impact.
Recent reports showed a slowdown in U.S. hiring in March, tepid growth in consumer spending at retail stores, a big drop in industrial output and softer-than-expected home building, reinforcing a view the economy downshifted in the first quarter and didn’t have great momentum moving into the second.
The U.S. economy continued to expand across most of the country in February and March, though a strong dollar, falling oil prices and harsh winter weather slowed activity in some sectors, according to the Federal Reserve’s latest survey of regional economic conditions.
A gauge of U.S. business prices rose in March for the first time since October, a sign of stabilizing inflation in the economy.
Sales at retailers and restaurants increased 0.9% last month to a seasonally adjusted $441.4 billion, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. That was the biggest monthly gain in a year, but it was still down from November, when retail sales reached their highest level since the end of the recession.
The new organization, called the Economic Innovation Group, is premised on the idea that policy solutions to some longstanding economic challenges might break through with better engagement from successful private-sector investors and entrepreneurs.
Better education would lift the earnings of men in the bottom half of the income scale but wouldn’t be enough to erase inequality between the rich and poor, according to a new paper.
A new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco said that most people who get a new job weren’t seeking it. Instead, recruitment and referrals form the basis of the bulk of new hiring.
Profits at U.S. corporations in late 2014 posted their largest drop in four years, a reflection of an economy weighed down by a strong dollar and weak global demand. . . . GDP, the broadest measure of goods and services produced across the economy, expanded at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.2% in the fourth quarter, the Commerce Department said. That was unchanged from its previous estimate last month. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected an upward revision to 2.4% growth.
The weak performance suggests U.S. companies remain cautious about spending amid weak global demand and a strengthening dollar. Severe winter weather has also likely played a role in recent economic softness, as home builders pulled back on new construction and consumers spent less at retailers and restaurants.
In February, U.S. consumer prices rose 0.2% from January, which pulled the annual inflation rate out of negative territory; it’s now zero. More important, core prices rose 0.16%, which nudged the annual rate up to 1.7% from 1.6%. It was the second upside surprise to core inflation in a row. The driver in January was firmer service prices, this month it was goods.
The trade deficit shrank to a seasonally adjusted $41.75 billion in January, the Commerce Department said Friday, as crude imports fell and created the lowest deficit for petroleum products in over a decade.