
Economics
U.S. retail sales unchanged; consumers showing resilience
U.S. retail sales were unexpectedly flat in September as households cut back on purchases of motor vehicles and other big-ticket items like electronics and appliances amid stubbornly high inflation and rapidly rising interest rates.
QoD: Top financial app in the App Store: Venmo, Cash App or PayPal? - Blog
Gen Z uses these payment apps the most, so you might have some inside information on which is most popular. Answer: From data.ai (10/17/22) Questions: Why do you think these person-to-person apps are so popular (top 3 on the list)? When do you think people find these apps most useful? Do you have any finance apps on your phone? Why or why not? What do you think are the most important criteria in choosing which finance apps to use? Here are the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom. Behind the numbers (Pew Research): When asked what motivates them to use these sites or apps, users most frequently point to ease.
The US Labor Department could grant millions of contractors employee status — and reshape the entire gig economy - Robinhood Snacks
The gig is up… Yesterday the Labor Department announced a proposal that could classify millions of gig workers (think: delivery drivers, janitors,...
What Have Workers Done with the Time Freed up by Commuting Less? - Liberty Street Economics
The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed the way Americans spend their time. One of the most enduring shifts has occurred in the workplace, with millions of employees making the switch to work from home. Even as the pandemic has waned, more than 15 percent of full-time employees remain fully remote and an additional 30 percent work in hybrid arrangements (Barrero, Bloom, and Davis). These changes have substantially reduced time spent commuting to work; in the aggregate, Americans now spend 60 million fewer hours traveling to work each day. In this post, we investigate how people spend this saved time on other activities. Using detailed data from the American Time Use Survey (ATUS), we find that employed individuals allocate their saved commute time toward leisure activities and sleeping, while reducing overall work hours.
U.S. to release oil reserves as Biden tackles high pump prices
U.S. President Joe Biden announced a plan on Wednesday to sell 15 million barrels of crude oil from the nation's emergency supply and begin refilling the reserve as he tries to dampen high gasoline prices ahead of midterm elections on Nov. 8.