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November 19, 2024

Flipping the housing-labor dynamic

By most accounts, the U.S. economy is doing well. Last week, we learned that inflation is rising more slowly than it was a year ago, and consumers are continuing their brisk spending. Lurking beneath this upbeat data, however, is housing, which continues to put a squeeze on the economy.
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May 22, 2023

MainStreet Macro: Answering questions, and raising new ones, about the complex world of work

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

This week, ADP Research Institute launches Data Lab, a centralized and in-depth repository of research and information on the economy and labor market.
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May 15, 2023

MainStreet Macro: The next inflation risk

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

Lately, I’m reminded of inflation during my morning exercise class. While the first 50 (OK, 35) sit-ups are fast and easy, after that my pace starts to slow. By 60 reps, I’ve gone from fast and easy to slow and irregular.
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May 8, 2023

MainStreet Macro: The Big Quit is over. Here comes the Big Stay

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

Last year, workers resigned from more than 50 million jobs. It was the highest number of quits since the government started keeping track in 2000. The great resignation, as it came to be known, was fueled by abundant job opportunities, labor shortages, and big pay increases for workers who quit one job to take another.
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May 1, 2023

MainStreet Macro: Keeping an eye on the ball

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

I’m not a great golfer. But in an effort to improve my game, I took a lesson and was struck (no pun intended) by how golf can be applied to the economy. One thing I learned is to mark the ball. Some golfers look at the putter, others at the hole. But looking at the mark as you swing helps with alignment and focus.
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April 24, 2023

MainStreet Macro: People at Work: A three-year lookback

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

For the past three years, the ADP Research Institute has been talking to workers across the globe to learn about their on-the-job experiences before, during and after the pandemic. Last week we released our latest report in this series, our People at Work Survey.
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April 17, 2023

MainStreet Macro: The path between global and local growth

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

Last week my attention turned to my old stomping ground, Washington, D.C., where I worked for several years. One of the city’s most closely watched spring events – after the National Cherry Blossom Festival – is the annual spring meeting of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Central bankers, finance ministers, company executives, and academics from across the globe descend on D.C. to discuss front-burner economic and geopolitical issues.
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April 10, 2023

MainStreet Macro: March Jobs Data: A Return to Balance

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

Last week delivered a fresh round of jobs data for February and March. Today, we’ll catch up on the numbers and what they say about the current state of the labor market. All told, it’s mostly good news.
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April 3, 2023

MainStreet Macro: Taking the temperature of financial conditions

by Nela Richardson, Ph.D.

Where I live, in the Northeast, early spring can be unsettling. Warm, sunny hours can be followed by chilling rains, relentless wind, snow, or worse. Like spring’s unpredictable weather, financial conditions can be volatile, as we witnessed last month.
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