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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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January 15, 2024

Main Street Macro: Reality check

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

You’ve probably heard that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. In reality, when it comes to the future path of the economy, the line is rarely straight. We saw this last week, when a key measure of consumer inflation rose after three months of decline. This kind of volatility isn’t unusual, especially during times of geopolitical uncertainty.
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January 8, 2024

Main Street Macro: The trust factor

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

The annual World Economic Forum gathering in the mountainside retreat of Davos, Switzerland, is commonly described with a single word: Elite. But this year, Davos is attempting to draw attention to a new descriptor: Trust. The theme of this month’s Davos meeting, which begins Jan. 15, is rebuilding trust. The gathering will take place as the world confronts new and significant challenges and opportunities.
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December 18, 2023

Main Street Macro: North pole wage report

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

Did you ever wonder how much Santa Claus makes? Turns out it’s a little more than $35 an hour. And how do I know this?
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December 11, 2023

Main Street Macro: A soft landing for payrolls

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

Last week delivered the final job reports of the year from ADP and the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. Today, we’ll dive into that data and discuss what it means for next year.
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December 4, 2023

Main Street Macro: Bumpy rides and soft landings

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

I spent last week at a lovely hotel in France with a beautiful view of the ocean. Naturally, because I’m an economist through and through, the ocean view had me thinking of inflation news on both sides of the Atlantic. Two of the world’s largest economies – the United States and the European Union – have suffered with big bouts of high inflation since the pandemic. Now, they’re adjusting to higher, for possibly longer, interest rates in three important ways.
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November 20, 2023

Main Street Macro: Data to be thankful for

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

Last week marked my three-year anniversary as head of the ADP Research Institute. It’s been an https://www.bls.gov/cpi/eventful three years in the economy. Main Street has been on a bumpy ride these past years. As I reflect on that journey, there are three data points we can be thankful for this holiday season.
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November 13, 2023

Main Street Macro: The New Geography of Remote Work

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

At the ADP Research Institute, I work with an incredible team that stretches from Hawaii to Poland, with several stops along the way. Teams like ours have become more prevalent during the pandemic. Well-deserved attention has been given to hybrid work arrangements, and the associated compromises on how many days to spend in the office. However, unlike fully remote arrangements, hybrid work requires employees to live within a commuting distance of a work location.
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November 6, 2023

Main Street Macro: What a slowing job market means for women

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

Last week’s data on jobs showed us a solid but slowing labor market. Private employers added 113,000 jobs in October, according to the ADP National Employment Report, and the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that U.S. non-farm payrolls grew by 150,000. And the super-sized wage gains that defined the labor market over the past 18 months also have slowed dramatically.
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