Business Trends

by Raymond J. Keating- The economic growth experienced over the past year largely has rested on the shoulders of the consumer, given the stall or decline in private investment and in trade. That’s a dicey scenario, considering that consumers take their cues from how much business is investing and hiring. Hiring, of course, has remained […]

by Raymond J. Keating- The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that nonfarm business labor productivity grew by 1.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019, and by 1.7 percent for all of 2019. As noted by the BLS, “Labor productivity, or output per hour, is calculated by dividing an index of real output by […]

by Raymond J. Keating- The monthly takes on the economy offered by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) point to continued modest growth in the economy – estimated at roughly 2.4 percent – during the first month of 2020. The ISM report on manufacturing for January came in at 50.9 percent. That was up from […]

by Raymond J. Keating- The latest trade report from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis provided another reminder that the U.S. suffers whenever government chooses to raise costs and obstacles to free trade. While U.S. exports of goods and services inched up during the last two months of 2019, the December level was still down […]

by Raymond J. Keating- The key data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis report on personal income is real per capita disposable income, which basically stalled at the end of 2019. Real per capita disposable personal income is personal income less personal current taxes, and adjusted for population and inflation. This is the income […]

by Raymond J. Keating- The U.S. Census Bureau’s durable goods report for December showed that topline durable goods new orders grew by 2.4 percent in December, after a decline of 3.1 percent in November and barely inching ahead by 0.2 percent in October. Meanwhile, shipments declined in each of the last three months of 2019. […]

by Raymond J. Keating- Small Business Policy Index 2019: Iowa ranked 42nd among the 50 states. SBE Council’s “Small Business Policy Index 2019” ranks the 50 states according to 62 different policy measures, including a wide array of tax, regulatory and government spending and performance measurements. Small Business Tax Index 2019: Iowa ranked 46th among […]

by Raymond J. Keating- The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ new report on state employment shows that job growth in the states cooled at the close of 2019. Let’s look at three key takeaways from this report. First, compared to the previous month, only three states experienced employment growth in December – Texas, Washington and […]

The latest outlook shows global GDP rebounding, and U.S. GDP slowing by Raymond J. Keating- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) just released the latest update to its World Economic Outlook. As usual with the IMF, there are issues that raise questions, but one issue actually is substantive and striking, and that pertains to projections regarding […]

The latest report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the long, breathtaking decline in labor union membership continued in 2019. The number of labor union members registered 14.57 million in 2019. That was down from 14.74 million in 2018. As a percent of employed, the 2019 level came in at 10.3 percent, […]