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Hey friend - almost Friday. Look out for our Weekly Scoop tomorrow.
Here’s what you need to know today…
Big Picture
Laid-off workers have a harder time finding work.
Americans are working harder for longer hours.
Businesses aren’t planning for a significant recession.
Check out more newsletter recommendations from Beehiiv:
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The Market: ⬆️ +1.9%
S&P 500: 4,317.78
1Mo: +2% | 1Yr: +16% | 5Yr: +55%
The market continued the positive momentum today after a negative few weeks, posting its best day in months.
Laid-off workers have a harder time finding work, although layoffs haven’t increased much. The Labor Department reported initial unemployment claims rose slightly last week to 217,000 but are still hovering near normal levels. Continuing claims, those who return for unemployment benefits for a second week, have climbed for six straight weeks. The number of laid-off workers not finding jobs is at the highest level since April.
💰Though layoffs are still low, companies aren’t hiring as much. Make sure you have an emergency savings in cash that you can live off for at least a few months.
Worker productivity has increased, but wages aren’t keeping up. The Labor Department reported employee productivity increased by 4.9% in the third quarter, as output increased while Americans worked longer hours. Compensation increased only 3.9%, leading to a decline in the cost of labor per hourly output for companies. Companies are getting more work for their dollar.
Businesses spent more on self-improvement in September despite facing hurdles with high borrowing costs. The Commerce Department reported a boost in orders for durable goods, rising 4.6% for the month after decreasing in August, led by increased purchases for transportation equipment. New factory orders also rose, with a strong demand for computers and electronic equipment.
How are you feeling about the economy? |
Company Scoops 🗣️🌎💰
💡Join the board at America’s biggest companies. Vote and judge their decisions.
 Apple | Slowing Growth Apple's sales fell for the fourth straight quarter as shoppers bought less of every Apple hardware product except the iPhone, especially in China. Apple posted record sales across its growing services business, from music to TV. |
 Live Nation | Tay and Bey Boom Ticketmaster-owner Live Nation notched a record quarter, on pace for a record year, as concert ticket, merchandise, and event sales surged. Tours from Taylor Swift and Beyonce helped Live Nation reach 140M tickets so far in 2023. |
 Toyota | Matching Pay Toyota will raise wages for its nonunion US factory workers by up to 9% and cut the minimum employment time to reach the highest pay tier in half. Toyota's raises follow the recent deals the Big 3 automakers made with their union workers. |
 Eli Lilly | Weight Loss Sales Eli Lilly broke over $1B in quarterly sales from its diabetes drug Mounjaro that's been shown effective as an obesity treatment, sparking shortages. The drugmaker is awaiting regulatory approval to sell it as a weight loss treatment. |
 Moderna | Vaccine Pivot Moderna's losses keep growing as demand for its COVID-19 vaccine, its only product, falls. The biotech is focused on shrinking its manufacturing costs while developing various new vaccines targeting respiratory diseases, cancer, and more. |
(These links only work for 24 hours while the story is live.)
Inside Scoop 🤓
How do you know who’s hiring and firing?
There are four main reports people watch to understand trends in the labor market.
The main jobs report comes from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics on the first Friday of each month. It highlights the unemployment rate, new jobs added, and wage growth.
The Labor Department also releases the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) each month but on a one-month lag. That report helps us understand how many open positions there are, how many people quit their jobs, and how many were hired.
There's also a monthly private-sector survey from payroll services company ADP that doesn't include government jobs and the weekly initial unemployment claims (a proxy for layoffs) report from the Labor Department.
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