Does The U.S. Have A Labor Shortage?

Near record unemployment rates and an increase in help wanted signs would suggest that there is a labor shortage.  If this is the case, we should be seeing the signs of a tight labor market, with wage growth and inflationary pressures.  Surprisingly, wage growth has been modest and inflation has been relatively benign. What is … Continued

Recruiting in a Strong Economy

According to recent reports, for the first time since 2005, the U.S. Army missed its recruiting goal for the year, despite increasing its bonus pool by $200 million and approving additional waivers for bad conduct and health issues.  The Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps, with much smaller requirements, all met their recruiting goals for … Continued

Whither Wages?

The stock market has been doing well, unemployment is at historic lows, inflation is relatively modest and a strong economy augers well for corporate earnings during the balance of this year, and perhaps for 2019.  In the midst of all of this good news, wage gains seem to be lagging. Recently published employment data suggests … Continued

Labor-Force Participation

Since the turn of the century, U.S. labor-force participation has been weakening.  There have been numerous attempts to explain this phenomenon, with little agreement.  Most of the theories have revolved around inadequate pay, increased safety net benefits such as disability payments, and the thought that a recovering economy would solve the problem by encouraging greater … Continued