Labor Economics

A layoff doesn't end when you clear out your desk. For millions of workers, it's the start of a financial cascade – debt accumulation, missed payments, delinquency, and in too many cases, bankruptcy. The decision was made at the business level. The consequences are paid at the individual level. This is a data-backed look at the correlation between mass layoffs and the financial freefall that follows, and what it reveals about who actually absorbs the cost of corporate strateg

By now, you've seen the headline: 172,000 jobs added in May – more than double the consensus estimate of 80,000. On the surface, this looks like a labor market in healthy equilibrium. The truth is not quite as sunny as it appears. One sector explains this entire story: leisure and hospitality. the FIFA World Cup opens June 11th. The hiring surge preceded it. Strip that out and you're looking at the underlying growth that barely clears the margin of statistical error.

ADP announced 63,000 jobs added to the private sector in February. If you're one of the many viewing this as evidence of a bounce-back – first, everyone calm down. We're going to look at a few important details before we celebrate a number that may not be everything it appears. The Professional & Business sector continued in the negative. Long-term structural issues remain. The headline is doing a lot of work to hide the full picture. Context matters, folks.

The year is 1955. The horrors of the Great Depression and the rattling of WWII are far in the rearview. America is in an economic and cultural boom. You clock in to a union-protected job, come home to a pretty little tract house, picket fence and all. No college degree required. A pension is waiting. Now fast-forward. Student loan debt, gig work classified as "entrepreneurship," and a hybrid data analyst role paying what your grandfather made in 1955. Sound familiar?