Economics

The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently announced that job openings were down in 15 states, and little changed in the other 35 on the last day of May. In Georgia, job openings were down 17,000, but job openings were up 6,000 in South Carolina. Job openings are one variable in the Augusta Leading Economic Index (LEI), and they have been trending down since February. Fortunately, other components of the LEI have been trending up. Residential building permits were up 31 percent in May and have increased in four out of

Last week, I reported record-high employment numbers in the Augusta Metropolitan Statistical Area for the leisure and hospitality industry. Total employment is also nearing a record high, standing currently (May) at 246,100. The record high is 246, 500 in January 2020. Unfortunately, some other measures of the strength of the labor market are not as robust. After spending the whole of 2022 at 3.5%, the unemployment rate started to rise in 2023. It currently stands at 3.8%, still low by historical standards. Part of the reason for the increase may

As ABD recently reported, a potential strike against the UPS delivery service by more than 300,000 workers could lead to slower delivery times, supply chain disruptions, and higher shipping costs if the company and the Teamsters union don’t come to an agreement by August 1. Should CSRA businesses be concerned? UPS delivers millions of packages every day. Recent reports indicate that its competitors like FedEx, USPS, DHL, and others have admitted they will not be able to absorb that amount of business deliveries if UPS workers walk off the job.