June’s jobs report showing a respectable 147,000 jobs added for the month included a sobering fact: a large swath of private-sector employers are not hiring.
Tag: high interest rates
WHEN THE ECONOMY FALLS, JOBS GO WITH IT
Private sector jobs fell to the lowest level since October 2024, according to a Department of Labor Report and more than half of private companies cut jobs last month. Employers cite high interest rates and uncertainty over tariffs as the driving factors behind slow hiring.
U.S. FINANCIAL OUTLOOK IS DETERIORATING, MOODY’S WARNS
Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff regime will complicate efforts to manage the growing federal debt as high interest rates persist, Moody’s warned last week.
U.S. CONSUMERS CUT SPENDING AS MOOD CONTINUES TO DARKEN
Foot traffic in American brick-and-mortar stores was 4.3 percent less in early March than a year earlier, continuing a reduction in shopping that began early this year, research service RetailNext reported.
U.S. HOLIDAY SALES RISE 4 PERCENT, CHEERING RETAILERS
Retail sales during the November and December holiday season totaled $994.1 billion, the U.S. Commerce Department reported, a 4-percent bump over 2023’s total. Online sales rose 8.6 percent.
MORTGAGE RATE RISES BACK UP OVER 7 PERCENT
The average U.S. interest rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage rose to 7.04 percent during the week of 6 January, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. reported, the first time since May the rate has topped 7 percent.
HOME-RELATED RETAILERS’ SALES WERE HAMMERED IN 2024
The lofty home prices and high interest rates that have restricted home sales have also cut revenues for home improvement and home furnishings businesses that depend on people buying and fixing up houses.
MORE EMERGING NATIONS FACE FISCAL CRISES, DEFAULT, WORLD BANK SAYS
High interest rates are pushing even more poor countries to the brink of financial collapse, the World Bank said in a 3 December report.
PERSONAL BANKRUPTCIES JUMP 15.4 PERCENT IN CANADA THIS YEAR
Through 30 September, 15.4 percent more Canadian households became insolvent this year than last as the country’s cost-of-living crisis continues, the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy reported.
STRAPPED CORPORATE BORROWERS DEFER PAYMENTS TO CONSERVE CASH
Companies that have borrowed from private credit funds and now face a financial squeeze are using a tactic called “payment in kind” (PIK) to skip their payments and conserve their cash.