Reports and Issue Briefs
September 2018 Jobs Review
This was another strong jobs report. Most impressively, the unemployment rate (U-3) fell to 3.7%, the lowest since December 1969. Though September’s job creation numbers may have been affected by Hurricane Florence, it was notable that 87,000 more jobs were created in August and July than initially ...
September FOMC Review
The FOMC’s September statement, noted that “the labor market has continued to strengthen.” It also described economic activity, job gains, household spending and business investment as strong or growing strongly. Meanwhile, inflation remains at the Fed’s desired 2% rate. These outcomes indicate tax ...
Incomes Rise Nationwide at 4.2% Annual Rate
Across the United States incomes increased 4.2%, at an annual rate, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) State Quarterly Personal Income report for Q2-2018. The BEA also noted that the U.S. industries with the largest percent rise in earnings* were farming, mining, professional, scient...
The EU’s New Digital Trade War?
In the latest example of targeting U.S. technology firms, the European Commission (EC) has accused Google of using its Android Operating System (OS) to prevent the use of other search engines. However, the EC has provided little evidence that Google has market dominance or consumers have been harmed...
The Truth About Medicare and the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
Both the 2018 Medicare Trustees Report and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) project an insolvency date of 2026 for the Medicare Hospital Insurance (HI) trust fund. It’s time to separate fact from fiction on whether the trust fund is in better or worse shape due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJ...
Permanent Tax Relief = Even Fairer Taxes for the Middle Class
Permanent tax relief for families means millionaires pay a larger share of the tax burden and those who need it most see the largest percentage drop in their taxes.
Chairman Paulsen's Opening Statement on “Examining the Rise of American Earnings & Living Standards”
If we allow people to thrive, they will thrive. If we allow American businesses to invest in their workers, they will invest in their workers. If we let Americans keep more of their money, they will put it to the best uses for their families and their own well-being, and our economy will thrive.
More Benefits for More Americans
The benefits share of total compensation is at an all-time high of 31.7 percent. Private-sector employee benefits increased by 3 percent in June from a year earlier. Cash bonuses unrelated to job performance reached a record high of 7.6 percent of total benefits in June. Tax reform has enabled hundr...
Inactive, Disconnected, and Ailing: A Portrait of Prime-Age Men Out of the Labor Force
The share of prime-age men—between the ages of 25 and 54—that is neither working nor looking for work has been rising for decades. This rise has left an increasing number of men outside the world of work, historically an important source of social capital. Research suggests that these me...
Workers Are Better Off Now
- Inflation-adjusted household income grew 1.8% in 2017 to $61,372, the highest level on record. - Initial unemployment claims are the lowest since the late 1960s. - Workers have more opportunities and confidence to move to better jobs as the “quit rate” hit the highest level since 2001. - There ...
