Economics

The labor force in Augusta is below 267,000 (March 2022) compared to almost 271,000 pre-pandemic. Traditional thinking and economics suggest that employers should raise wages and that will increase the workers’ opportunity cost of staying at home and at least some workers will be enticed back into the labor force. Unfortunately, as I mentioned last week, average weekly earnings in Augusta have not kept up with increases at the state and national levels, and even declined in 2021. Nationally, earnings have increased by 5 percent in the same period. But

Several leaders of major banks recently warned about a looming financial crisis that could plunge the United States into a major recession. This reflects the same sentiment of a gloomy economic forecast as Hull College of Business economist, Simon Medcalfe made in his ABD column on Wednesday (see his local report here). “It’s a hurricane,” JP Morgan Chase CEO, Jamie Dimon said at a recent banking conference in describing his view of the economy. Like with a natural hurricane, where it is sunny and peaceful in the days ahead of

Inflation and record-high gas prices are beginning to affect one of Americans’ favorite pastimes – eating out. Research by Acosta, a marketing firm in Jacksonville, found that 54 percent of Americans report dining out less. When they do go out, they are more selective in where they go and what they order. About a third of those surveyed said they’re choosing less expensive restaurants or less expensive menu items when they dine away from home. This is a blow to the restaurant industry just beginning to recover from shutdowns during