Economy

Scary Charts 02.02.26

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The jobs market is starting to show hard-to-ignore cracks – https://www.axios.com/2026/02/05/jolts-data-december-jobs-market

US employers cut more jobs last month than in any period since 2009. More than 100,000 workers were fired at Amazon, UPS, and Dow, and hiring was the slowest for any January on record, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. The low-fire, low-hire dynamic that has kept the US labor market in an anxious balance appears to have tipped. US layoffs in January hit highest monthly record since 2009 – https://www.semafor.com/article/02/05/2026/us-layoffs-in-january-hit-highest-monthly-record-since-2009

Yikes.

Scary Charts – 12.04.25

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Through November, employers have announced 1,170,821 job cuts, an increase of 54% from the 761,358 announced in the first eleven months of last year. Year-to-date job cuts are at the highest level since 2020 when 2,227,725 cuts were announced through November. It is the sixth time since 1993 that job cuts through November have surpassed 1.1 million. Challenger Report: 71,321 Job Cuts on Restructurings, Closings, Economy https://www.challengergray.com/blog/challenger-report-71321-job-cuts-on-restructurings-closings-economy/

Yikes.

In my less than illustrious career I’ve suffered 100% reductions in income multiple times. Hopefully the newly unemployed have some form of a fallback plan.

Stay safe. It’s fugly out there.

Scary Charts 11.15.25 (income matters)

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Cognitive disability was strongly associated with socioeconomic factors such as income and education. Adults with household incomes less than $35,000 consistently reported the highest prevalence, increasing from 8.8% (95% CI 8.5%–9.2%) in 2013 to 12.6% (95% CI 12.0%–13.2%) in 2023. By contrast, adults in the highest income bracket (household income ≥ $75,000) had substantially lower prevalence, with a more modest increase from 1.8% (95% CI 1.6%–2.0%) in 2013 to 3.9% (95% CI 3.6%–4.2%) in 2023. Rising Cognitive Disability as a Public Health Concern Among US Adults – Neurology October 21, 2025 issue 105 (8) e214226 https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000214226

Overall, income is central to the aging experience. From how well they think they’re aging to how they rate their physical and mental health and financial security, older adults with upper incomes are doing better than those with middle or lower incomes. Aging well: How income and health shape the experiences of older Americans – https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2025/11/06/aging-well-how-income-and-health-shape-the-experiences-of-older-americans/

Yikes.

Work Until You Die – Scary Charts 09.07.25

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It is a common misconception that prices come down when inflation cools, when in reality a period of high inflation leaves a legacy of high prices. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. consumer prices have increased 22.7 percent since January 2021, with some categories seeing even steeper price increases than that. Food prices have are up 25 percent, rents have increased almost 27 percent and transportation prices are up 28 percent. And yet, nominal wages have only grown 21.8 percent since January 2021, leaving many people worse off than they were almost five years ago. Cost of Living Is the Biggest Challenge Americans Face https://www.statista.com/chart/35054/biggest-challenges-faced-by-americans/

Retirement Savings Survey: 50% of people don’t think it’s realistic for the average American to expect to retire comfortably – https://wallethub.com/blog/retirement-savings-survey/133047

The second survey is small with just over 200 respondents. The methodology statement is vague so it’s hard to tell if the findings are truly representative of a larger population.

Maybe the survey got an overwhelming number of pessimists.

Then again, maybe not.

Yikes.

Did the Baby Boomers Ruin the Housing Market?

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Close to 40% of all mortgages are paid off in this country. That’s mostly baby boomers.

That generation has the ability to sell their homes that are up like 500%, ignore 7% mortgages and buy in cash when they relocate for retirement.

I guess that makes sense but I would blame the unhealthy market on so many other factors before ever getting to the boomers.

Here’s my list in no particular order: The Fed, HGTV, the pandemic, remote work, the government (for not incentivizing the building of more homes), the Great Financial Crisis (totally screwed up the homebuilders), NIMBYs and Taylor Swift (her tickets are so expensive no one can afford a house).

If we want to fix the housing market, we have to build more houses.

It’s as simple as that.

6 Questions I’m Pondering At the Moment – https://awealthofcommonsense.com/2023/09/6-questions-im-pondering-at-the-moment/

Agree.

Scary Charts – 10.22.23

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So that drywall mass produced home that sells for $1 million just went up from $4,519 a month to $7,016! That is a 55% increase in less than one-year. So we now have realtors struggling since they make money on high sales volume. You have commercial real estate getting absolutely smashed. Banks are in a tough spots since they made bets on a low interest rate environment. But now, that same home will cost you $2,497 more per month with no measurable increase in underlying value. The house does not have a built in chef, or unlimited childcare, or a Tesla that comes fully charged every day with no cost to you.

The Stalemate of the Century: Housing Facing an Existential Moment — http://www.doctorhousingbubble.com/the-stalemate-of-the-century-housing-facing-an-existential-moment/

Scary charts as promised from the same article:

Oklahoma.

Or California.