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.”
A Glassdoor study reports that internship programs at companies like Roblox, Uber, and Salesforce offered the highest compensation levels in 2020 — nearly $10,000 a month. Daniel Zhao, a senior economist at Glassdoor, joined Cheddar News to talk about why big tech companies are paying top dollar for their interns. "I think what we're seeing is that companies are pushing more aggressively to engage with these candidates before they’ve even graduated, really because of the level of competition that they are facing, especially for these very high-value STEM graduates," he said.
Lonely Planet is looking to provide tech-savvy travelers with the building blocks to plan their own trips in a new travel experience series. Sebastian Modak, editor-at-large for Lonely Planet, joined Cheddar News to discuss its travel planning innovation. "We’re really offering new perspectives on these places and new approaches to experiencing them," Modak said.
The Week's Top Stories is a guided tour through the biggest market stories of the week, from winning stocks to brutal dips to the facts and forecasts generating buzz on Wall Street.
Dubbed the "Ethereum Killer," Solana is known for its super-fast, low-cost transactions, which has proven attractive to defi companies looking to scale up quickly.
The New York Times posited in the 1980s that because of inflation, the cost of a slice of pizza in New York will always be around the same price as a ride on the subway. But for the first time in 40 years, the so-called "pizza principle" has been broken. Increasing costs of supplies like utility gas, flour, and cheese — not to mention labor due to shortages — have driven the price of a cheese slice up to $3.14 on average, according to the app Slice. Cheddar News spoke to Vito's Slices and Ices co-owners John and Nick Accardi to learn why.
