From the APP:
NJ jobs shrinking? Employers still hiring? Making sense out of economic crystal ball
New Jersey lost 2,600 jobs in March and its unemployment rate remained steady at 3.5%, the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development said Thursday, in a sign that the Garden State’s torrid job growth could be slowing down.
Even as some employers put on the brakes, however, others continue to expand in the state, showing that the picture of a post-pandemic economy remains mixed.
“We’re super bullish,” said Jeff Van Wie, general manager of Slalom, a Seattle-based consulting company that opened an office in New Brunswick on Wednesday with 200 employees. “The amount of opportunity we see with the clients that are here, we feel — for us — the business is going to keep growing.”
The monthly jobs report is from a survey of New Jersey employers that measures the number of jobs and a survey of households that measures the unemployment rate. It is a preliminary look that will be revised next month and again next year.
The March report was a snapshot from a month that saw two regional banks failand the Federal Reserve Board raise interest rates for the ninth time in a year. The Fed is trying to slow down the economy and rein in inflation.
In March, the leisure and hospitality industry continued its comeback from the pandemic by adding 2,100 jobs. Trade, transportation and utilities, and the information sector added 400 jobs each.
Professional and business services, which includes technology jobs, lost 3,500 jobs last month.
From NJBIZ:
Mixed March labor report shows jobs count dip, participation rate rise
The state Department of Labor and Workforce Development released its March jobs report April 20, showing a mix of some positive and lackluster figures.
On the positive side, New Jersey’s labor force participation rate increased to 64.8%, its highest level since July 2013. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.5%, which matches the national rate.
“The numbers on the state’s labor force, employment of residents, and unemployment were good,” said Charles Steindel, former chief economist of the State of New Jersey, who analyzed the report for the Garden State Initiative (GSI). “The state’s labor force rose 18,300 in March, marking the third straight month with an increase of more than 10,000. The 64.8% labor force participation rate was higher than the pre-pandemic cyclical peak of 64.5%. Resident employment rose 16,500; over the last year it has increased by more than 130,000.”
On the flipside, there was a 2,600 jobs decline in March. And, revised February figures showed a drop of 3,100 jobs instead of the previously estimated 4,600 jobs gained.
From the Guardian:
This isn’t wage-price inflation, it’s greedflation – and big companies are to blame
Inflation is proving hard to shift, and that spells big trouble for a government fast running out of excuses for why the cost of the weekly grocery shop is rising at its fastest rate since 1977.
Global energy prices have collapsed, and the price of food on international commodity markets is coming down too, so it’s hard any longer to blame Vladimir Putin for inflation being so sticky. Nor is it immediately obvious why junior doctors should be the fall guys.
Despite attempts by ministers to finger workers for the persistence of the cost of living crisis, there is no real evidence that this is the case. Both the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank have looked at whether higher wages are driving up prices, and neither of those august bodies thinks that is happening.
What they have found is that companies have been able to use the crisis to drive up prices and boost profit margins. The IMF and the ECB wouldn’t put it in these terms, of course, but both support the idea that companies are gouging their customers when they can. The non-technical term for what is going on is greedflation.
Perfect example 12 pack of sugar water(or fake sugar) costing $10
Friday pizza night, instead of ordering out I made 3 personal pies and cooked them on the grill. If we were to order what we made would have cost close to $50. Came out great, may be the new normal.
I know…it wasn’t wrong. That’s been her position for a long time. And she has always shared my similar position that this inflation was supply chain induced and not due to monetary policy. Look at grim’s post today…people are finally catching on that greed combined with an excuse of “supply chain” issues led to this inflation. It was one big orgy of greed by businesses.
Juice Box says:
April 21, 2023 at 9:57 pm
Pumps – That was all AI I posted. The source for the AI opinion was not this blog for sure just MSM sources… take it as it is.
3b,
You better believe I am going to give it to you. You gave me hell and belittled me for a long time on here, and you were wrong every single time. From suburbs are dead to WFH is here to stay. Wrong wrong wrong wrong. Own it. Apologize.
Sorry, have to raise prices…my supplier increased the costs. Now let this play out over the entire economy. That’s what we just experienced.
It all started with a run on toilet paper. Created the environment of fear in the consumer that they can’t get whatever they want. Then it hit wood and just ripped through the economy. Businesses took full advantage of this fear and were able to easily raise prices simply by stating suppliers raised costs or they didn’t have the supplies. Consumer out of fear didn’t flinch an eye.
Look at cars. It allowed car companies to exit competition mode pricing. They learned to limit inventory and maximize margin. It was a weird time…and the govt should have never shut the economy down. Never do this again. Created inflation against impossible odds (didn’t have inflation for 40 years).
Housing was always going to go on a run this period. I called it 10 years out based on demographics and supply. Imagine if they didn’t have this pandemic and we still had low rates? Imagine the pricing right now. Would be insane. It’s insane with high rates…
So maybe inflation was a blessing by allowing the Fed to raise rates and cool off housing run. This bubble could have been enormous.
Trick, I’ve been making my own pies for 15 years. I set up clay stones in my oven and broil them to 650 and cook the pie with the broiler. Works great. I use premium tomatoes from Italy, high end flour from Arizona, and mozz from my favorite cheese shop in Philly. Even with the most expensive ingredients, I must have saved at least 10k over the years. Still gotta hit up my favorite spots every now and then.
Do you deliver?
trick says:
April 22, 2023 at 8:02 am
Friday pizza night, instead of ordering out I made 3 personal pies and cooked them on the grill. If we were to order what we made would have cost close to $50. Came out great, may be the new normal.
I have been doing it for years too, just not consistently. Have imitation green egg and pizza stone, usually cook it at 600 degrees. There is a add on I can buy that converts it into a pizza grill, just do not think its worth the cost.
https://www.kamadojoe.com/products/dojoe#image-3
Trick re: ” may be the new normal.”
I have not ordered a pizza in like forever.
Shoprite sells 16 oz pizza dough, 3 for $5. They also sell 16 oz Mozzarella bars for $3.99 on sale this week and I shred them myself. I also get San Marzano whole tomatoes and make my own sauce. Those are on sale this week too. Cento 28 oz can whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes for $4.69.
Toppings are easy too, pepperoni sausage mushroom, onions peppers etc.
We cut the dough in 1/2 and make smaller pizzas. They fit on the grill and I store them frozen after cooking for later. I will make like 6 crusts from the 3 pizza balls. Cook 3 that night and freeze the other 3 for the following week.
So all in like $18 bucks plus toppings you can make 3 large pizzas or six small ones.
$5 dough
$8 for Mozzerella
$4.69 for Tomatoes
+ Toppings.
Inflation is always a monetary phenomenon
What does this mean?
“Of course [suburban crime] is increasing at a faster rate. If we manage to get 2 murders in Princeton this decade, that’s a 100% increase…”
Thanks, I passed on noting bad statistical sampling from a self identified political source (Center for American Progress) used to support a pre-existing viewpoint.
I think one of the areas noted had a population of only 20,000? So one shooting moves them up the scale by 50 per 100k population….
JB, I hesitate on parenting commentary other than in the focused area of divorce because everyone’s (and everyone’s spouse’s) views and values are likely so different, not to mention differences among the children…and I doubt I’m personally getting high nominations for Dad of the year anyway lol….
Having said that for more ‘difficult’ or serious conversations with my kids I find co-opting them into ownership is key…the more serious or uncomfortable the topic the less they want to hear from dad and therefore the more they are going to be focused on just GTFO as soon as possible and not on the point at hand.
Seemed to me the key was getting their attention and then having one single direct point that wouldn’t get lost in TMI, and would not be buried in an uncomfortable talk.
I waited until a relaxed time we were together – took a while – for us we used to hike some trails so it was on a hike at a place we would usually pause for break. Isolated, calm, no distractions, no timelines.
The ‘ownership’ I got from them was a lively conversation of what they wanted and saw for themselves as they grew up…got them pretty animated….colleges, professions, home ownership, where in the country/world they could live….a good five/ten minute discussion led by them of ‘what they want to be’.
Then I hit them with the main point, not hard but directly, with ‘hey those plans sound fantastic and you will get there…but…there is one thing that can screw it up’….
Came at it quickly and cleanly from the pregnancy angle…no uncomfortable sexual discussion, no STDs, just a *when* you do it use protection. Kept it very direct, no personal info requests (eg, are you doing it, do you like her, etc)….Just made the point that all the great stuff you see for yourself will go out the window because if you get someone pregnant you’re getting the first job possible right now – ie, McDs – and working your life at low paying dead end jobs to support a kid. Everything you just told me you see and want for yourself is out the window.
Gave them a pack a condoms then and there, told them to keep it in their room somewhere, and always use one. No exceptions. That kind of sealed the deal, got the ‘shit, you’re serious’ look on that move.
I let them know that I was always here for any questions or discussions about sexuality if they want, and paused to see if there were questions. Haha, you can imagine the ‘are you kidding me’ look I got with dead air time.
Smiled, got up, continued our hike like everything was just regular.
ATEOTD the experience wasn’t totally comfortable, by keeping it short and to the point I feel I got the important message across and minimized uneasiness…also by letting them start and control the conversation – and set up the punch line – I think it gave them some ‘ownership’ rather than just chalking it up to another dad lecture…
I don’t have any grandkids that I know of, so it either worked or didn’t matter, who knows. So much is just random anyway.
GL
Chainsaw workout today. Chewed through two Oregon chains today taking down a tree and chopping it up….but I feel manly and well sore..
Kinda like this comedian.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5dUDfqeql0
My BIL had LA on his mind for years. A part of him dies every time he has to commute into Chelsea. Then covid and wfh happened, just recently he evicted his deadbeat tenants, got new tenants in… was already calling realtors in LA to make the jump… and just last week Citi said they want all employees back in the office three days a week. The agreement he wad with his boss, who has since departed, that he could WFH (Hudson Co.)… boss gone, agreement gone…
One of the best congressional hearings ever..
Sen. John Kennedy he is great….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNlffZb1pLU
Boomber – re: “My BIL had LA on his mind”
Yeah and No….LA is a big big place. Have to be more specific about neighborhood…My friends that live there have all gravitated further down the 101..
We felt the vibes when Millennials were fighting to get jobs and apartments in the 2010’s. We see now how it feels when Millennials are fighting to buy houses. Their urge to buy stocks is still 5-10 years away, but when that happens you won’t be able to buy the S&P sub-20x EPS.
You look at what’s happened to housing affordability now, and it being so out of whack vs history, and project that forward to equity valuations when the median Millennial is in their mid-late 40’s — we’ll probably see the stock market peak at 30x EPS again.
And on the one hand it “won’t make sense,” but there’s a whole infrastructure of 401(k) contributions and target-dated funds. Are 45-year olds making $150-250k really going to put their retirement contributions into bonds? Of course not. It’s just how things work out sometimes.
https://twitter.com/conorsen/status/1649751919655624704?s=46&t=0eaRjeKWHSIY8WCyPT4KMg
He gets it…
And just remember…Pumps was screaming this way before anyone else. 10 years out and almost everyone I said it to laughed at me.
did you ever get that rent from your deadbeat tenant?
Thanks for all the advise…..on dating..
I think I will let my wife handle for now, he does not want to talk and I will stop asking as of today..
Cheers folks..
Phoenix
If you want blackpink tickets you have to join weverse to follow blackpink and then join blackpinks official fan club for $20 I think. You will then get a member id you have to use to register for the presale. Its a digital membership card that gets emailed to you. You then have to apply at weverse . and also register at the blackpink fan club for the presale.
Dating…yeeeesh. I’ve had the same date for 30 years.
She’s always the best looking woman in the room.
Classic Scandinavian 5’9″, Natural blonde. Curtains match the drapes.
Smarter and harder working than any person I know.
BlackPink just headlined a night at Coachella. FWIW
Inside the controversial booze battle shaping the future of N.J.’s dining scene
https://www.nj.com/politics/2023/04/the-long-pour.html
Ex
You going to see them? They’re going to be in California in august
No, but I did pickup tickets for Elvis Costello & Nick Lowe.
Greek theater!