Americans applied for fewer unemployment benefits at the end of 2019, the Labor Department announced Thursday. The number dropped by 2,000 to 222,000 in the seven days up until December 28, although the four-week average ticked up by 4,750 to 233,250.
The report beat expectations that had predicted 225,000 new claims, according to Reuters. The result marks the third consecutive weekly decline.
“I think we’re definitely going to see slightly smaller growth month by month than what we saw in 2019 and that’s consistent with economists expectations’ of the macroeconomy weakening slightly,” in the labor market, Beth Akers, Manhattan Institute senior fellow, told Cheddar.
She will be keeping an eye on manufacturing trends and changes in policy regarding trade for indications about how job numbers will grow (or shrink) in 2020.
“If you’re looking to something to be concerned about, you can look at the four-week moving average, which is up from what it’s been over the course of the year,” Akers said. “But, by and large, these are really strong, positive numbers for the labor market.”
The new 2023 C8 Corvette Z06 is finally here. GM's Chevrolet is holding a livestream feature film to debut the car. A panel discussion will also take place to break down everything you need to know about the vehicle. Tadge Juechter, Corvette's executive chief engineer, joins Cheddar News to talk about the new model.
Anushka Salinas, president and COO of Rent the Runway, joined Cheddar's "Closing Bell" to talk about bringing the fashion rental company to the public market after debuting on Nasdaq. Salinas also talks about the future outlook for the company after the pandemic shifted the everyday lives of working women. "As of the end of September, we're at 97 percent of our ending 2019 subscriber count, which, I think, highlights that despite the pandemic, despite delta variant still kind of lingering around, limited marketing of our business, and women not fully being back in the office, we've already brought Rent the Runway back to pre-pandemic levels," she said.
The Roots' Questlove joined Cheddar's 'Between Bells' to talk about partnering with The Balvenie Scotch whisky on a new web series called 'Quest for Craft,' where he interviews big-name guests about their creative processes. He noted that he hopes the series can act as a guide for recent college grads who might be confused about their personal path to take toward success.
GM CFO Paul Jacobson joined Cheddar to talk about the automaker's Q3 earnings beat. Despite COVID concerns at some of its plants overseas as well as the ongoing global chip shortage, Jacobson said he expects the average sale price of GM's vehicles — around $50,000 — to remain the same going into 2022, even as inventory remains low. He also talked about plans to open more battery plants in coordination with the efforts to transform GM's fleet fully into electric vehicles.
Kevin Cohee, chairman and CEO of OneUnited Bank, joined Cheddar's "Opening Bell" to talk about the launch of its Greenwood debit card keeping alive the legacy of Tulsa, Oklahoma's historic Black Wall Street. Cohee also discussed the importance of shopping with Black businesses and investing in Black-led and owned financial institutions. "Our leaders have understood, since the end of slavery, the importance of us being organized in order to be effective in a capitalist society," he said.
Alex Wilhelm, a senior editor at TechCrunch, joined Cheddar to talk about the ups and downs of fashion rental company Rent the Runway as it went public on the Nasdaq. "In the case of Rent the Runway, the economics of its core business are a little bit suspect, I think, and the company's high debt load puts a pretty serious drag on its operations," he said. "And so when you consider it's going to spend a lot of its IPO paying down debt, you wonder what's going to be left over to fund future growth."
Following the 100,000 Tesla Model-3 order by rental car company Hertz, Uber announced its drivers will be able to rent Teslas for work beginning in 2023. Of the Hertz purchased Model 3 cars, 50,000 of those will be available to Uber drivers starting at $344 per week.
