Today's Scoop:

Hey friends - almost Friday. Look out for our Weekly Scoop tomorrow.

Here’s what you need to know today…

1. Layoffs haven’t increased much.

2. Wages aren’t keeping up with living costs.

3. Companies hired more than expected in May.

S&P 500: 4,221.02
1Mo: +3% | 1Yr: +1% | 5Yr: +52%

The market floated higher today as the debt ceiling deal moved through Congress.

Layoffs are still pretty low. The Labor Department reported initial jobless claims ticked up slightly to 232,000 last week, still near pre-pandemic averages. Weekly layoffs haven’t risen much in the past 18 months.

Wages aren’t keeping up with living costs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported average hourly compensation rose only 3% in the 12 months ending March 31st, well below the pace of inflation. Real wages, adjusted for inflation, have declined -2.6% in one year, meaning the money we’re paid can buy less stuff. So we’re actually earning less value for our work. The same report showed employees are working 2.2% more time and creating 1.4% more output than a year ago.

Companies hired more people than expected in May. A report from payroll service provider ADP showed private-sector companies expanded their workforce by 278,000 people last month. ADP said wage raises have slowed.

Click to dig in & vote your reaction, see how others feel

• Amazon pays for Alexa and Ring spying and security issues

• Delta Air Lines sued for misleading carbon neutral claims [🤓]

• Dollar General shareholders force employee safety review

• Exxon shareholders reject all climate proposals

• Salesforce signals a business software slowdown

(These links only work for 24 hours while the story is live)

Carbon Neutral

More companies are setting net-zero emissions and carbon-neutral targets to reduce their impact on climate change and minimize the volume of harmful greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere from their operations, supply chain, and products. While the terms are often colloquially interchangeable, they have slightly different meanings.

Carbon neutral means the company removes as much carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as it emits yearly. Net-zero takes it a step further, broadening from just carbon to all greenhouse gases like methane or sulfur dioxide and restricting the use of carbon offsets. This means net-zero companies must reduce their emissions, not just counteract them by purchasing financial instruments that direct money to carbon-negative projects like tree planting.

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