Storm Clouds On The Horizon? Unemployment Holds Steady, But Weaknesses Are Showing   According to the Labor Department’s May nonfarm payrolls report, employment in the U.S.’ private sector increased in May by 139,000 jobs, keeping the unemployment steady at 4.2%. Although growth is always good, the number of jobs added was less than the 147,000 anticipated as recently as April.   However, the numbers get less rosy the further down you drill. According to Dow Jones Data, although economists forecasted 110,000 new jobs for last month, the jobs added were woefully fewer (37,000 private sector) than hoped for. Small business employment shrank by 13,000,...

AI Taketh and AI Giveth Away What Was Your First Job?   Here is a question frequently asked around the office water cooler, or whatever serves the same purpose today. It’s also often used as an icebreaker or a way to get to know someone.   What was your first job? This question transcends age, social status, and ethnicity. Most everyone enjoys a brief stroll down memory lane, recounting how little they were paid, how hard the job was, or the interesting people they met.   When we think back to our first job, we often see the start of the path that led us...

Decline of U.S. Manufacturing By any metric, U.S. manufacturing continues to decline. Visual Capitalist says, “Overall, the number of U.S. manufacturing firms has shrunk by 14% over 20 years, with 50% or higher drops in the apparel and textile mills sectors.       Amid factory closures across nearly all manufacturing sectors, employment has dropped to 13 million workers as of January 2023, down from its 1979 peak of 19.5 million workers. Today, manufacturing jobs make up roughly 10% of the U.S. private sector workforce.”  According to a report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “In the 40 years since manufacturing employment peaked, the industry...

Diversity or Optical Illusion?   THE HISTORY OF DEI   Although it is easy to look at diversity in the workplace as a fairly recent phenomenon, it is in fact the result of the evolution of political and social changes that have been on the march for over half a century. A summary of these changes can be seen in the following timeline: A HARD RIGHT TURN   Most political and societal trends tend to follow a pendulistic cycle, and DEI is no exception. A slate of executive orders, legal changes, and strong red political winds, as well as growing anti-DEI sentiment in the U.S., has...

Doris Day   Doris Day, an American actress, is also widely known for her 1956 song, Que Sera Sera (Whatever Will Be Will Be). The lyrics continue with, “The future’s not ours to see, Que Sera Sera.”   Perhaps at no time in the recent past has the phrase “the future’s not ours to see” been more germane. With an escalating worldwide trade war intensifying almost daily, businesses are on increasingly unsteady ground. Government policy can appear to be haphazard and opaque.   Planning is Critical   Planning for the future is critical for any business. The odds for success of any plan are largely based on being...