Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Summary of Economic Activity Sixth District business contacts remained largely positive with most noting that economic conditions were improving at a modest pace over the reporting period. Most contacts expect continued slow and steady growth in the near-term. Business contacts experienced on-going labor market tightness but limited wage growth. Non-labor […] Read more
The FED Said In 2017, the unemployment rate averaged 4.4 percent. That’s quite low on a historical basis. In fact, it’s the lowest level since 2000, when unemployment averaged 4.0 percent. But does that mean that the labor market is only 0.4 percentage points away from being as strong as it was in 2000? Probably […] Read more
Last week, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that his platform needs to change. Community feedback has shown that public content has been “crowding out the personal moments that lead us to connect more with each other,” according to Zuckerberg. As a result, the company says it will be focusing more on promoting posts from friends rather than from […] Read more
The FED Said During six weeks of the holiday season, Geodis Contract Logistics of Brentwood, Tennessee, fulfilled about a million electronic commerce orders a day. From its 130-plus warehouses, the firm aims to ship every ecommerce order as quickly as possible, said Scott McWilliams, Geodis’s executive vice president of strategic development and a former member […] Read more
Harvard Business Review The vast majority of humans throughout history worked because they had to. Many found comfort, value, and meaning in their efforts, but some defined work as a necessity to be avoided if possible. For centuries, elites in societies from Europe to Asia aspired to absolution from gainful employment. Aristotle defined a “man […] Read more
The FED Said Speech by Raphael Bostic President and Chief Executive Officer Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta To the Rotary Club of Atlanta January 8, 2018 Summary Atlanta Fed president and CEO Raphael Bostic offers his economic outlook in a speech to the Rotary Club of Atlanta on January 8, 2018. He also addresses the […] Read more
The FED Said One element that has distinguished the expansion following the Great Recession from expansions following prior recessions is the slow recovery of the housing sector. Recent data releases relating to home sales activity and new construction point to a housing market that continues to grow at a slow but steady pace. Single-family starts […] Read more
The FED Said A sleek housing complex is rising in Chamblee, Georgia. Nothing new there. Nearly 1,000 apartment and condominium buildings have been permitted in the past five years in metropolitan Atlanta, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. But the one in Chamblee is unusual. The Senior Residences at Mercy Park is a collaboration between […] Read more
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Summary of Economic Activity Reports from Sixth District business contacts described economic conditions as modestly improving since the previous report. Most businesses continue to expect slow and steady growth for the remainder of the year. District firms continued to describe a tight labor market as many faced difficulty finding workers. […] Read more
Did you know that only 29.7 percent of Americans over the age of 25 have attained a four-year college degree?1 Given many policymakers’ focus on increasing the share of individuals who attain a degree, that may sound like a surprisingly low number. It leaves a large group of American workers who do not have a four-year […] Read more
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Summary of Economic Activity Aside from hurricane effects, Sixth District business contacts described economic conditions as improving at a modest pace from mid-August through September. The outlook among firms remained optimistic with the majority of contacts expecting growth to be slightly above current levels for the remainder of the year. […] Read more
This fall, college seniors across the U.S. are making a choice that will shape the rest of their lives: which career to pursue after graduation. It’s a breathtakingly complex decision, involving trade-offs among prestige, job security, quality of work life, and compensation. Yet these career choices affect not only the students themselves but also the rest […] Read more
According to the Current Employment Statistics payroll survey, seasonally adjusted nonfarm payroll employment declined 33,000 in September. This decline was the first drop in employment since 2010 and followed a 169,000 gain in August. At the same time, seasonally adjusted average hourly earnings in the private sector increased 2.9 percent year over year in September. This […] Read more
Office Renovations Take Off Many U.S. cities have seen the return of construction cranes in recent years. However, unlike in previous building booms, residential towers have dominated new construction. So far, new office construction has not yet reached its prerecession level. On the other hand, cities across the nation are bustling with office renovations. Could […] Read more
The Great Recession Drastically Changed the Skills Employers Want The employment shift from occupations that require mid-level skills toward those at the high and low ends is one of the most important trends in the U.S. labor market over the past 30 years. Previous research has suggested that a primary driver of this job polarization […] Read more