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The EMC Index, which tracks how people think and feel about their jobs, fell for the third straight month in December.

December 17, 2024

Employee sentiment fell in December

Employee sentiment fell by seven points in December, the third straight decline, but manufacturing remained a standout.
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April 8, 2024

Main Street Macro: Manufacturing: A Cinderella story

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

I grew up in Indiana, a big basketball state, so college ball has a special place in my heart. My favorite part of the NCAA college tournament has always been the Cinderella team, those players that surprise everyone with a winning streak. The economy’s winning streak isn’t a big surprise
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April 1, 2024

Main Street Macro: The good and the bad of stress

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

If you've ever had a job, you’ve probably experienced stress at work. There's no shame in it. But could workplace stress actually be a good thing? We examined this question, and found an answer.
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March 25, 2024

Main Street Macro: How to catch a moving target

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

Change is a constant theme on this blog. That’s not only because the Main Street economy is always in motion, which it is, but also because big, long-in-the-making changes have begun rapidly shifting the economic landscape. For business leaders and decision-makers, it can be hard to keep up, let alone catch changing trends.
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March 18, 2024

Main Street Macro: The new geography of work ­­­

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

Anyone who has ever done any hiring knows it’s not always easy to find the right person for the job. And if you’ve been on the other side of the interview table, you know that finding the right company to work for also can be challenging, even in a good economy. This matching process between job candidates and hiring managers has changed a lot over the last four years due to the growth of remote-work arrangements.
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March 11, 2024

Main Street Macro: Missing the Mark: Trends in teacher salary

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

Teachers are a crucial part of the economy. I should know–my mom is a teacher. They’re part of the care economy, often described by economists as the workforce behind the workforce. In a new analysis, the ADP Research Institute’s Jeff Nezaj shows that even though the U.S. economy continues to add jobs at a rapid clip, the education sector is trailing behind. Here are three key findings.
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February 5, 2024

Main Street Macro: What to do with good news?

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

Wall Street has a complicated relationship with good news, especially when interest rates are high, like they are now. Investors know that economic growth is good for their portfolios, but economic growth plus rock-bottom interests are even better.
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January 29, 2024

Main Street Macro: What color is your collar?

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

This week brings the first jobs report of the new year, and already people are asking about the outlook for 2024. Worries about inflation and recession have been supplanted by labor-market anxiety. Layoffs in technology and finance have triggered unease that white-collar jobs might be vulnerable to a hiring slowdown this year.
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January 22, 2024

Main Street Macro: The power of Davos: Networks

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

Davos, Switzerland, site of last week’s World Economic Forum gathering, is where movers and shakers meet. Leaders of companies, governments, and nonprofits around the world do here what they do best: Network.
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