Manufacturing employment rose by 31,000 in November, and year to date, hiring in the sector is on track for the best annual job growth since 1994, rising by 315,000 in the first 11 months. Yet, there remained 253,000 fewer manufacturing employees relative to pre-pandemic levels, with 12,799,000 workers in the sector in February 2020. The [...]
Initial unemployment claims totaled 199,000 for the week ending Nov. 20, the lowest level since the week of Nov. 15, 1969. Meanwhile, the 2,049,000 continuing claims for the week ending Nov. 13 marked a post-pandemic low. In addition, total unemployment insurance payments dropped to $45.2 billion in October, the lowest level since February 2020, after [...]
After pulling back in August and September on supply chain disruptions, manufacturing production rebounded in October, rising 1.2%. Output in the auto sector, which has been challenged by the chip shortage and supply chain issues, bounced back 11.0% in October after falling 3.0% and 7.1% in August and September, respectively. Manufacturing capacity utilization jumped from [...]
On Wednesday, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont publicly said "no" to the Transportation & Climate Initiative (TCI) gas tax, stating he would no longer pursue its implementation. After the state legislature refused to act on the controversial climate initiative last summer, the Governor's rejection of this new fuel tax on motorists has effectively killed the TCI [...]
Sen. Joshua Miller, D-Cranston, has told PBN that Statehouse negotiators on legislation to legalize recreational marijuana want to give businesses in Rhode Island similar protections to maintain a drug-free workplace as Connecticut approved earlier this year. These protections include allowing all employers to conduct marijuana testing of prospective employees and similar testing or “fitness for [...]
Manufacturing job openings rose from 869,000 in August to 897,000 in September. These figures are not far from July’s record high (906,000), and job postings remain well above pre-pandemic levels. Job openings rose to an all-time high for durable goods firms and were not far from a record pace for nondurable goods businesses. Americans quit [...]
The index for delivery times (down from 36.5 to 34.8) fell to a new low, with the longest wait times in the history of the survey. At the same time, input prices (up from 71.2 to 74.4) and output prices (up from 60.9 to 63.7) both soared to new heights in the latest data. Eight [...]
As manufacturers continue to lead America’s economic recovery, they’re doing so in the face of a real—and avoidable—challenge. Because Congress has failed to act, manufacturers in the United States have been operating without a Miscellaneous Tariff Bill since January, which has led to higher prices, greater difficulty in competing with businesses overseas and harm to [...]
What it is: Included in the Build Back Better framework, the book tax imposes a 15% minimum tax on the financial statement—or book income—of corporations with over $1 billion in profits. The provision would be effective for tax years beginning after Dec. 31, 2022. What NAM is saying: “Employing more than 12 million people who [...]
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) allows the governments of 26 states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands to adopt and enforce their own workplace safety and health rules for private businesses or state and local government workers. When federal OSHA enacts a new rule, state workplace safety agencies are required by [...]