Author: Tatiana Bailey
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In the absence of government data …
I have been fascinated by the continued rallies in the stock market as juxtaposed to consumer surveys, which show caution and pessimism about the U.S. economy. Key indicators are telling us conflicting things. Let’s start with consumer spending, which appears robust despite souring consumer confidence. A recent study by Mark Zandi, Moody’s chief economist, showed…
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In the absence of government data …
I have been fascinated by the continued rallies in the stock market as juxtaposed to consumer surveys, which show caution and pessimism about the U.S. economy. Key indicators are telling us conflicting things. Let’s start with consumer spending, which appears robust despite souring consumer confidence. A recent study by Mark Zandi, Moody’s chief economist, showed…
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Tatiana Bailey: That pesky inflation still at play, delaying rate cuts
Last week, I did a presentation for yet another rate-dependent industry, and it’s striking to me how those brokers and investors are waiting with bated breath for that first rate cut from the Fed. The room is particularly quiet when I talk about inflation. January’s headline inflation rose 3.1% from January a year before, but…
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Tatiana Bailey: For some teachers, their pay is not a living wage
I got a lot of comments regarding my recent article showing the local graduation rates and earnings by school district. Indeed, the district a child is born into can have a 56% high school graduation rate or a 95% or above graduation rate, with corresponding median earnings well below or well above a living wage.…
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Exploring the link between graduation rates, income levels | Tatiana Bailey
Workforce development is key to long-term, sustainable economic development, and this is especially true right now with fewer working-age people relative to retirees. Our nonprofit, Data-Driven Economic Strategies, provides data to schools with the top occupations, certifications and skills that employers need. This can inform career and technical education in high schools and boost the…
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Female labor participation returns to pre-pandemic levels | Tatiana Bailey
At the end of 2022, I wrote a Gazette article on the marked decline in male labor participation, which is the percentage of working-age men who are working or actively looking for work. The economic statistic that has stayed with me the most is that in 1950, 1 in 50 men ages 25-54 were not…
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Tatiana Bailey: Homeowner’s insurance premiums impacting housing affordability
I periodically give updates on the Housing Opportunity Index, which gives the percentage of homes sold that would be affordable to a family earning the median household income. As a refresher, as recently as 2019 that index showed that 71.4% of homes sold in Colorado Springs were affordable to the median household income. That index…
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Tatiana Bailey: New year brings some good news for the economy
I am excited to start the new year with some positive reporting on the U.S. economy, which I’ve lately heard referred to as the “Teflon” economy. Gross domestic product, or GDP, for the fourth quarter of 2023 was just released, and it showed that year-over-year, the U.S. economy grew 3.1%. If we annualize the Q4…
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Consumer buying patterns and income expectations | Tatiana Bailey
In December, national retail sales rose 0.6%, which doesn’t sound like much, but year-over-year, excluding auto, gas and food sales, holiday sales in December were up almost 4%. This is in line with pre-pandemic holiday spending, which hasn’t happened in several years. Something interesting is that a lot of holiday shopping happened in person, with…
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Tatiana Bailey: Americans’ debt load continues to increase
In previous articles, I’ve covered the increase in credit card and auto loans alongside the unfortunate increase in delinquency rates for these types of loans. The latest data confirms that this trend is still in full force. Consumer-related credit, excluding mortgages, is at the highest level it’s been in the U.S., surpassing $5 trillion in…