Flexible workplaces are hiring talent twice as fast as those requiring full-time attendance
Two years into the return-to-office battle, and it’s becoming apparent that its staunchest supporters arefacingheadwinds. Employersmandatingafulltime office return may be inadvertently making themselves unattractive to job seekers, new researchshows.
Over the past three months, Scoop Technologies’ analysis found that “fully flexible” companies—ones where all employees work remotely or have complete autonomy over whether they go into the office—grew headcount by 1.9% on average. Meanwhile, those with “structured hybrid” work policiesgrewby1.5%.Incomparison,employersthat were fully in-office grew their headcount by just 0.8%.
The combination of pricey commutes, sad desk lunches, and paying for childcare means that inofficeworkersareearningalmost10%lessthantheir remote counterparts. So it’s perhaps not surprising thatemployersthatallowtheirstafftodotheirjobs from home—instead of spending time and money to do the very same thing on company watch five daysaweek—arefaringbetterwithjobseekers.
Souce:
https://fortune.com/2023/08/07/forcing-workers-return-to-office-backfiring-flexibleworkplaces-hiring-talent-twice-fast-full-time-attendance/
Credit card balances jumped in the second quarter and are above $1 trillion for the first time
Americans increasingly turned to their credit cards to make ends meet heading into the summer, sending aggregate balances over $1 trillionforthefirsttimeever,theNewYorkFederal ReservereportedTuesday.
Total credit card indebtedness rose by $45 billion in the April-through-June period, an increase of morethan4%.Thattookthetotalamountowedto $1.03 trillion, the highest gross value in Fed data goingbackto2003.
Theincreaseinthecategorywasthemostnotable area as total household debt edged higher by about $16 billion to $17.06 trillion, also a fresh record.
The Fed’s measure of credit card debt 30 or more dayslateclimbedto7.2%inthesecondquarter,up from6.5%inQ1andthehighestratesincethefirst quarter of 2012 though close to the long-run normal, central bank officials said. Total debt delinquencyedgedhigherto3.18%from3%.
Farmland costs rise, pricing young farmers out of the market as age of farmers increase
The cost of farmland rose over 7% this year, pricing many farmers out of the market. This comes as the U.S.dealswithanaging farmerpopulation,causing many to wonder who will grow the next generation’sfoodsupply.
Midwest farmers have been dealing with a severe drought in Spring and Summer and now costs are adding pressure. They’d love to buy more land, but the prices are becoming unaffordable, and developers are turning farmland into neighborhoods.
USDA data shows the average price of farmland in theUSis$4,080dollars peracre.InIowa?$9,930.In California,it’s$12,400.AndinNewJersey,anacreof landgoesforabout$17,700.
More than 80% of the worlds corn and soybeans comes from Midwest farms. Prices for corn and soybeans surged in 2021 and 2022. Farmers made moremoney,investedinland,anddroveupthecost ofit.
Farmers say they can't compete with developers whocanbuyfarmlandformoremoney.
Souce:
https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/farmland-costs-rise-pricing-young-farmersout-market-age-farmers-increase
Wildfires are a severe blow to Maui’s tourism-based economy
Major wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui have killed dozens of people and caused heavy damage, particularly in the historic town of Lahaina. The state has asked all visitors to leave Maui and those planning to travel there to reschedule their trips – a harsh blow to a destination whose economy relies heavily on tourism.
Compared to other destinations, Hawaii is very reliantontourism– it comprises about25%ofthe state’s economy. According to the Hawaii Department ofBusiness, Economic Development & Tourism, visitor spending was projected to be US$20.8billionin2023and$23.4billionin2026.
Tourism plays an even greater role on Maui. Maui Countyhasthestate’shighestrelianceontourism, with 51% of its jobs falling into sectors directly associated with tourism. That means household incomesandpurchasingpowertherearestrongly influencedbythetourismeconomy.
In the short term, the top priorities are helping visitors get flights home, handling cancellations andassessingdamagetofacilitiesandproperty.
Energy Department announces largest-ever investment in ‘carbon removal’
The Energy Department announced it is awarding up to $1.2 billion to two projects to directly remove carbon dioxide from the air in what officials are calling the largest investment in “engineered carbon removal”inhistory.
The process, known as direct air capture, does not yet exist on a meaningful scale and could be a game changerifitdidandwereeconomical.
“Ifwedeploythisatscale,thistechnologycanhelpusmakeseriousheadwaytowardournetzeroemissions goals while we are still focused on deploying more clean energy at the same time,” Energy Secretary JenniferGranholmsaidinapressconferencecall.
ProjectCypresswillbebuiltinCalcasieuParish,Louisiana.SouthTexasDACisplannedforKlebergCounty, Texas. Each claims it will capture up to one million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year initially. A representativeoftheTexasprojectsaiditwillscaleuptoremove30millionmetrictonsperyearoncefully operational.Nodatewasgiven.
Officialssaidtheprojectswillcreate5,000jobsforlocalworkersandpeopleformerlyemployedinthefossil fuelindustry.
Souce:
https://apnews.com/article/climate-carbon-direct-air-capture-energy-3779d7776120570e9e9a53a00693dd1a
