Half Time for the Economy 2017

The better than expected June jobs report and Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s upcoming Congressional testimony is a good opportunity to review where the U.S. economy stands at the mid point of 2017. Economic Growth: The broadest measure of economic growth is Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Over the past fifty years or so, the economy has grown by 3 percent annually. In the past decade, that rate has dropped to about 2 percent, with 2015 being the best year (+2.6 percent) and 2009 the worst year (-2.8 percent).

The Key to Economic Growth: Productivity

Forget job creation, tax cuts and returning any sector back to its glory days. After running into (read: stalking) former Federal Reserve Chair Ben S. Bernanke in the CBS This Morning Green Room last week, he reminded me that the REAL key to boosting economic growth and more importantly, your living standard, is labor productivity. The reason is easy to understand: “In the long run, what we can consume as a nation is closely tied to how much we can produce,” wrote Bernanke more than a decade ago.

Stormy Weather for March Jobs

Although it may seem like a lame excuse, stormy weather in March, which followed mild conditions in February, caused job creation to slump in March. The economy added a lower than expected 98,000 jobs and the number of Americans who were not at work due to bad weather was 195,000 in this report, 55,000 more than the historic number of 140,000. Adding back those employees, the reading was 153,000, somewhat weaker than the 175,000 expected, but well within the general range.

Retirement Planning Week 2017

Happy Retirement Planning Week! In honor of the celebration, it’s time to take stock of where Americans stand. According to the 2017 Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) Retirement Confidence Survey, we still have some work to do:

DOL Fiduciary on Life Support

The Department of Labor's fiduciary rule faces two hurdles: a lawsuit and now, the Trump Administration's efforts to delay or perhaps kill it off. On Friday, President Trump signed an order directing the Treasury secretary to review the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial regulatory law. You remember Dodd-Frank, the big legislation meant to reign in the excesses of Wall Street after the financial crisis, right?

BlogMark TalercioFebruary 4, 2017DOL, DOL Fiduciary, Employment, Fiduciary, Fiduciary vs suitability, Jobs, Labor Market, Unemployment

The Obama Economic Legacy

As President Obama leaves office, it’s time to reflect on how the economy fared during his tenure. Because of the size and complexity of the U.S. economy, I have generally believed that presidents take too much credit or blame for what occurs on their watch. In many cases, bad luck or good fortune can play a larger role in a particular president’s economic performance than actual policy.

2016 Job Market Roundup

How was the job market in 2016? With the final employment numbers of 2016 now in, it’s time to award medals to various components of the labor market.

Is the US Economy at Full Employment?

BlogMark TalercioDecember 3, 2016broad unemployment, Fed, Fed rate hike, Federal Reserve, Full Employment, Jobs, jobs report, Nov jobs report, Unemployment, unemployment rate

Aug Jobs Report: Federal Reserve Rate Hike off Table

BlogMark TalercioSeptember 2, 2016Aug Jobs, Employment, Fed, Federal Reserve, FOMC, interest rates, Jobs, jobs report, Rate hike, Unemployment

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