Financial Managers Cause of Low Wage Growth!

Posted by & filed under Payroll Survey, Uncategorized.

Last week’s January Jobs Report drew a lot of attention for its  low hourly wage growth of only 0.1% in January. Even though employers added a more-than-expected 227,000 workers in January, average hourly earnings rose just 0.1 percent. Forecasters struggled to make sense of why Americans’ pay had barely risen at all. “What happened with… Read more » Read More

Bay Area Food Deflation

Posted by & filed under Consumer Price Index.

San Francisco food inflation had been running about three percentage points above the national average until recently. The past two data points from the Bureau of Labor Statistics now show that trend reversing, with its CPI-U annual change to October 2016 coming in at negative 3.8%. For charts of food price and other CPI indexes… Read more » Read More

October Retail Sales

Posted by & filed under Uncategorized.

Department store sales continue to fall, while online retailers continue to grow.   More tables and charts on retail sales.     Read More

Hiring and Separations

Posted by & filed under JOLTS.

The sixth-month moving average for Private hires nationally is up in September 2016 by 62,000 from September 2015.  The same comparison for Separations (quits, layoffs and others) sees a move of almost double: up by 132,000.     Both moving averages have been in a downtrend for the past several months.     Browse our… Read more » Read More

Single-Home Permits Plateau Like 2013

Posted by & filed under Uncategorized.

  The three month moving average of single-family home permits is resembling the leveling off seen in 2013. This is the national picture, regionally there are have been more ups and downs which combine to create that plateau. Read More