For those who live near the East or Gulf Coasts in the U.S. long enough, a hurricane or tropical depression will likely enter your life at some stage. Since I moved to Houston in 1997, the city has experienced three major storms in the Gulf of Mexico: Tropical Depression Allison, Hurricane Ike and the now-infamous …Read more
Each month the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases employment data at the Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and Division level in both Seasonally Adjusted Annualized Rates (SAAR) and non-seasonally adjusted formats. As I have written in the past: Jobs are everything to an economy. Period. Over what interval the jobs are counted, however, can change …Read more
The first job after college is so important in launching a career and positioning a person for their lifelong earnings. As shown in the past, it’s just not the level of pay but also associated living costs, growth potential (in responsibility and remuneration) and quality of life that need consideration. As usual, I invoke the …Read more
Just like some stocks outperform others, the same is true for housing markets. While most housing markets have seen home value increases since 2009, some markets have skyrocketed and others just chugged along. As usual, I invoke the TINSTAANREM axiom — There Is No Such Thing As A National Real Estate Market. Nor is there …Read more
Have you ever read an email that contained a link that was literally made for you, that you just had to click? [Naturally from a known-source that you have no concerns regarding cybersecurity.] I had one yesterday and, wow, did it increase the level of my brain activity level. Here was the hook, and it …Read more
For the second month in a row the U.S. outperformed the consensus from economists for job growth by creating 209,000 net new jobs in July 2017 versus an expectation of 180,000. In addition, job gains for May 2017 were revised downwards from 152,000 to 145,000, but June was increased from a preliminary gain of 222,000 …Read more
Jobs are everything to an economy. Period. Over what interval the jobs are counted, however, can change the outcome of the winners and losers. In most circumstances, economists look at the change year-over-year and also sequentially from the prior month. These two growth ranks can often be very diverse. What was hot a year ago …Read more
With more than one-out-of-every 10 people in the U.S. labor force today working for themselves, small business is a big deal. Newly started small business survival is not a guarantee. The latest analysis of newly started business survival from the Bureau of Labor Statistic’s Business Employment Dynamics found the following survival rates (percentages are approximates) …Read more
Gross Domestic Product (GPD) is essentially the value of all goods and services and serves as a measure of the productivity and value of the economy. For those that want to get into the weeds on the details, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), defines and compares national and state GDP as follows: Relation of …Read more
Big cities are becoming bigger in the U.S. at a quicker pace as they hit a 21st Century growth spurt. Not surprising, given the vast array of opportunities, entertainment, activities, economic growth, economies of scale and infrastructure possible with larger populations. At the same time, however, larger cities bring with them some negatives including higher …Read more