Business Trends

by Raymond J. Keating- The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on February 13th that the Consumer Price Index was unchanged in January. That is, CPI inflation was flat in January. In fact, inflation has been nonexistent for three straight months, i.e., 0 percent in each of the past three months. Over the past year, […]

Small Business Insider by Raymond J. Keating- The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that in December 2018, job openings hit 7.3 million. That’s an all-time high for a data set that began in 2000. Also during December, hires registered 5.9 million, with separations (i.e., including quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations) coming […]

by Raymond J. Keating- As federal agencies serving up data on the economy work to catch up after the partial government shutdown, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis released its report on November trade numbers on February 6. The data told a troubling story in terms of both exports and imports. Exports fell in November, […]

by Raymond J. Keating- Small Business Policy Index 2018: New Hampshire ranked 30th among the 50 states. SBE Council’s “Small Business Policy Index 2018” ranks the 50 states according to 55 different policy measures, including a wide array of tax, regulatory and government spending and performance measurements. When it comes to its public policy climate […]

By Karen Kerrigan- Entrepreneurs have entered 2019 with confidence about their businesses.  Business owners ended the year with record-level optimism, according to key surveys, but see red flags when it comes to the direction of policy given the new political dynamics on Capitol Hill.  While some news headlines are expecting doom-and-gloom for the economy in […]

The Tar Heel State Kicks Off the New Year (Again) with an Improved Business Environment   by Raymond J. Keating- Small Business Policy Index 2018: North Carolina ranked 17th among the 50 states. SBE Council’s “Small Business Policy Index 2018” ranks the 50 states according to 55 different policy measures, including a wide array of tax, […]

Small Business Insider   by Raymond J. Keating- More good economic news emerged on Friday (January 11) with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reporting that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) actually declined by 0.1 percent in December. For good measure, from December 2017 to December 2018, CPI inflation ran at only 1.9 percent. The […]

Small Business Insider by Raymond J. Keating- While measures of consumer confidence are worth factoring into assessments on the economy, data on consumer actions is what matters. The same, of course, can be said of surveys about what business owners and executives say they are going to do regarding investment versus the actual investment numbers. […]

The best year for U.S. job growth for some time by Raymond J. Keating- Employment growth in the U.S. finished strong in 2018, according to the December jobs report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. First, according to the establishment survey, nonfarm payrolls increased by a robust 312,000 in December. Payroll growth was particularly […]

by Raymond J. Keating- Nine states actually experienced a decline in population in 2018, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau. However, eight of those states have now suffered an uninterrupted streak of multi-year population losses. Consider the numbers regarding these eight states:  ● West Virginia has now lost population for six […]