FEATURED POST
March 25, 2025
Anchors aweigh
Stock markets are choppy, and a fog has descended on the economic outlook. That has business leaders and market watchers on the hunt for signs in the economic data to guide them. However, one of the most important drivers of the economy can’t easily be seen even when skies are clear: anchors. These are rules of thumb that, for better or worse, guide how people make decisions.
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April 1, 2024
Main Street Macro: The good and the bad of stress
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
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
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
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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March 4, 2024
Main Street Macro: What non-economists get wrong
Economists sometimes get their forecasts wrong. First, we say inflation will be transitory. Then we say there will be a soft – no, wait! – a hard landing. A recession! Or maybe, definitely, a soft landing.
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February 26, 2024
Main Street Macro: The shrinking work week
Are you working fewer hours now than you did before the pandemic? If the answer is yes, you have a lot of company.
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February 20, 2024
Main Street Macro: Spring means homebuyers—and a big test of inflation
This year, the spring housing market will be watched closely by more than just would-be buyers. Investors, economists, and monetary policymakers also are eying listings in both the inventory-starved for-sale market and the rental market. Here are three reasons why.
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February 12, 2024
Main Street Macro: Normal? What’s that?
After last month’s blockbuster government jobs report, I’ve been looking for signs of a normal economy. But as economists and market watchers talk of a “new normal” and “normalization,” I’ve been wondering just what a normal economy is.
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