Latest news with #HeatherLong
CNBC
8 hours ago
- Business
- CNBC
Job market is 'trash' right now, career coach says — here's why
The U.S. job market isn't looking too hot for recent college graduates and other job seekers, according to economists and labor experts. "The job market is kind of trash right now," said Mandi Woodruff-Santos, a career coach and personal finance expert. "I mean, it's really difficult," she added. "It's really difficult for people who have many years of experience, so it's going to be difficult for college kids." That may seem counterintuitive. The national unemployment rate in May was relatively low, at 4.2%. The layoff rate has also been historically low, suggesting employers are holding on to their workers. Yet, hiring has been anemic. The pace of employer hiring in April was the lowest in more than 10 years, since August 2014, excluding the early months of the Covid pandemic. More from Personal Finance:Millions would lose health insurance under GOP megabillAverage 401(k) balances drop 3% due to market volatilityTrump administration asks Supreme Court to lift ban on Education Department layoffs The rate at which workers are quitting — a barometer of worker confidence about their job prospects — has also plummeted to below pre-pandemic levels, a stark reversal from the "great resignation" in 2021 and 2022. "It will be a tough summer for anyone looking for full-time work," Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, wrote in an e-mail Friday. "This is an 'abundance of caution economy' where businesses are only filling critical positions and job seekers, especially recent graduates, are struggling to find employment," she said. While the job market may be limping along by some measures, Long also said a recession doesn't seem "imminent." Businesses added more jobs than expected in May, for example. But those gains have slowed significantly — a worrisome sign, economists said. Employers appear reluctant to hire in an uncertain economy. CEO confidence plummeted in the second quarter of 2025, seeing its largest quarterly decline on record dating to 1976, according to a survey by The Conference Board. Uncertainty around geopolitical instability, trade and tariff policy were the largest business risks, according to Roger Ferguson Jr., the group's chair emeritus. The share of CEOs expecting to expand their workforce fell slightly, to 28% in Q2 from 32% in Q1, and the share planning to cut their workforce rose 1 point, to 28%. "The steady erosion in the US job market cannot continue forever — at some point, there will just not be much left to give," Cory Stahle, an economist at the Indeed Hiring Lab, wrote in an analysis Friday. "In a low-hiring, slow-growth environment, employers can only hold onto their existing employees for so long before they too will have to be let go — increasing unemployment even as job opportunities continue to shrink," Stahle wrote. Don't underestimate the "power of personal connections" to help get noticed in a competitive job market like this one, said Woodruff-Santos, the career coach. Her No. 1 piece of advice: Make yourself "uncomfortable" in order to network and build professional relationships. "You need to put yourself in situations where you may not know everybody, you may not know one person, where you may actually need someone to give you a bit of a helping hand, and to feel confident and OK doing that," Woodruff-Santos said. If you're pushed to accept a job you don't love to make ends meet, make a plan to keep current in the field to which you aspire, she said. In other words, build the skills that will eventually help you get that job, perhaps by taking a training course, getting a certificate or doing contract work, she said. Also, consider joining a professional organization, putting yourself in the same room as people in your desired field and with whom you can connect, she said. These steps raise your chances of getting attention from future employers and keeping your skills sharp, Woodruff-Santos said. She also had some words of encouragement. "The job market has been trash before," she said. "It'll be trash again. This probably won't be your first trash job market. And you're going to be OK."
Washington Post
13-05-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
The bright spot of Trump's trade war is in a Pennsylvania factory
In today's edition: These days, a glossy 'Made in the USA' sticker or garment label is a rare find, but columnist Heather Long has uncovered a hidden gem in a Pennsylvania furniture maker, where everything is, indeed, made right here in America. Really, the factory is smack-dab in the eye of President Donald Trump's storm of global tariffs — and is sunbathing in all its domestically produced glory.
NZ Herald
22-04-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
Analysis: Is the United States headed for a Trump recession?
Opinion by Heather Long Heather Long is a columnist at the Washington Post. She was US economics correspondent from 2017 to 2021 and a member of the editorial board from 2021 to 2024. Before The Post, she was a senior economics reporter at CNN and a columnist and deputy editor at the Patriot-News. She also worked at an investment firm in London and was a Rhodes Scholar. THREE KEY FACTS: The alarming signs just keep coming since US President Donald Trump announced massive global tariffs on 'Liberation Day'. The price of gold has soared to an all–time high as people rush for the ultimate safe asset. The US dollar
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump Desperately Tries to Blame Anyone but Himself for Inflation
U.S. inflation was up in January, with Americans taking yet more hits from the rising costs of groceries, rent, and energy. The consumer price index indicated that prices rose by 3 percent in January compared to a year earlier, according to data released Wednesday from the Labor Department. Rent alone made up 30 percent of that increase, according to The Washington Post's economic columnist Heather Long, who noted on X that the 'core' consumer price index—which excludes the volatile prices of food and energy—had practically stalled since June. But Americans were still feeling sticker shock for some key grocery staples in January, when the price of a dozen eggs soared by 13.8 percent and averaged $4.95 across the country—a price tag that's still up by 53 percent from last year, according to The New York Times. Egg prices are only expected to increase amid a widening outbreak of avian flu, which has temporarily shuttered New York City's poultry markets and skyrocketed the cost of a standard dozen eggs to more than $12 in Key Food and CTown supermarkets, amid a nationwide egg shortage. But Donald Trump felt that there was only one person to blame. ''BIDEN INFLATION UP!' the president posted on Truth Social Wednesday morning. On the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly pledged to lower costs for American consumers on 'day one.' But three weeks into his second administration, Trump has repeatedly avoided answering the hard questions on exactly how he's going to provide relief for American's wallets. 'You said that tariff is a beautiful word,' pressed Fox News's Brett Baier in an interview with the president over the weekend. 'There are some signs in the market, consumer confidence, that they're a little jittery. So, if all goes to plan, when do you think families would be able to feel prices going down, groceries, energy? Or are you kind of saying to them, hang on, inflation may get worse until it gets better?' But Trump quickly changed the topic, instead lumping the responsibility of rising inflation onto other countries. 'I think we're going to become a rich—look, we're not that rich right now,' Trump said. 'We owe $36 trillion. That's because we let all these nations take advantage of us. Same thing, like 200 billion with Canada. We owe 300—we have a deficit with Mexico of $350 billion. I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to let that happen.' Last week, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the Trump administration doesn't 'have a timeline' for alleviating the nation's critically high cost of living.
