Economics

On Friday, November 3, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the U.S. unemployment rate for October inched up to 3.9% from 3.8% in September. The U.S. economy added 150,000 jobs in October, down from 297,000 in September. Job gains were seen in healthcare and government while manufacturing employment fell due to strike activity. In Augusta, the most recent employment data is for September. The unemployment rate remains at 3.8% as it has been since May. The employment level is 245,300, up 1,200 from August. This is the highest employment

A picture isn’t just worth a thousand words, it turns out the arts are worth millions in jobs and dollars in the economy of Augusta and for our neighbors across the river. Last year, a study by American for the Arts found that arts and culture generated $24.6 million in spending by organizations and audiences specifically in Richmond County. Although non-profit organizations are tax-exempt, money spent by consumers on goods and services, including hotel lodging, meals, and purchases resulted in $2.8 million in local, state, and federal tax revenue. That

There is a perception that cultural differences between different groups in society are growing larger. Rich and poor, black and white, male and female, conservative and liberal, and more or less educated have different attitudes, consumer behavior, media diet, time use, and give their newborns different names. However, a new paper by Marianne Bertrand and Emir Kamenica finds little support for this perception. Across the five groups and five cultural components, they find little change over time in 21 categories. That is not to say that people of different income