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Posts Tagged: “labor market“

August 28, 2026 Original Analysis

Consumer Confidence Slips Again, Future Outlook Darkens

The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index fell 0.8 points to 89.4 in August, down from 90.2 in July, based on a survey conducted between August 3rd and August 16th. The decline marks the second consecutive monthly drop, though the headline figure masks a sharper divergence beneath the surface. While consumers grew somewhat more upbeat about […]

August 19, 2026 Original Analysis

Fed’s Barkin Describes a ‘Low-Hire, Low-Fire’ Economy That Doesn’t Feel Great

Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin told a business audience in Greenville, South Carolina, this week that the United States has averaged 2.5 percent real GDP growth since 2023 despite the pandemic, supply-chain shortages, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, conflicts in the Middle East, tariffs, and higher interest rates. He credited stout consumption, still nearly 70 percent […]

August 7, 2026 Exploring Finance

Household Survey Shows 1.8M Jobs Lost in 2026 so far

The analysis below covers the Employment picture released on the first Friday of every month. While most of the attention goes to the Headline Report, it can be helpful to look at the details, revisions, and other reports to get a better gauge of what is really going on. Current Trends The jobs report showed […]

August 7, 2026 Key Gold Headlines

JOLTS Stalls Again as Gold Hovers Above $4,000

The latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) showed little movement across the major measures. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that job openings were “little changed” at 7.4 million in June 2026, a 4.4 percent openings rate that has barely budged for months. Hiring held at 5.3 million, while total separations stayed near […]

July 3, 2026 Original Analysis

Workforce Shrinks by 720,000 While Gold Surges to $4,096

June’s Employment Situation report offered little comfort to households or policymakers. Headline non-farm payrolls grew by a scant 57,000, a figure that arrived alongside a combined 74,000 downward revision to April and May. The official unemployment rate edged down to 4.2 percent, yet that improvement came only because 720,000 Americans exited the labor force. As […]

July 3, 2026 Original Analysis

Job Openings Hold Steady at 7.6 Million, Uncertainty Continues

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) on Tuesday, and the report offered little new for markets to digest. Total openings in May held at 7.6 million, hires came in at 5.2 million, and separations totaled 5.1 million. The underlying rates (openings at 4.6%, hiring at 3.3%, […]

July 2, 2026 Exploring Finance

Household Survey Shows 500k Jobs Lost in June while Labor Force Participation Crashes to Multi-year lows

The analysis below covers the Employment picture released on the first Friday of every month. While most of the attention goes to the Headline Report, it can be helpful to look at the details, revisions, and other reports to get a better gauge of what is really going on. Current Trends The jobs report showed […]

July 1, 2026 Original Analysis

AI Will Destroy Jobs? Good

The AI bubble has become a frequent fixture in the financial news cycle as pundits and institutions express their fear that, when it pops, it could drag the global economy into crisis. Central bankers and institutions like the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) are sounding alarms about debt-fueled AI investments, overexuberance, fragile funding structures, and […]

May 11, 2026 Peter's Podcast

Peter Schiff: Jobs Are Worse Than They Say  

On Friday’s episode of The Peter Schiff Show, Peter takes apart the latest employment numbers and warns that financial markets are already discounting an ideal outcome few can reasonably expect. He walks listeners through why headline job gains are misleading, why stock valuations rest on optimistic assumptions about war and AI, and why the nation’s […]

May 11, 2026 Exploring Finance

Headline Report and Household Survey Show an Employment Gap of 341k Jobs in April

The analysis below covers the Employment picture released on the first Friday of every month. While most of the attention goes to the Headline Report, it can be helpful to look at the details, revisions, and other reports to get a better gauge of what is really going on. Current Trends The jobs report showed […]

April 28, 2026 Original Analysis

Lying Flat & Agency

The Chinese government anti-spy agency has recently been warning the youth to avoid lying flat. In a time of more limited economic mobility than the past, and with the same Chinese intense work culture in full effect, young people have started doing what they call lying flat. This is where they find ways to avoid […]