Unemployment benefit claims increased

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits increased slightly during the week ending July 29. It was reported that 227,000 citizens submitted an application during this period, some 6,000 more than in the previous registration. At the same time, there was an increase in productivity (the highest since November 2020) that positively impacted wages.

Reuters reported that the number of jobless citizens increased in the last week of July, based on federal employment data not yet released. This contrasts with the 23,697 jobs eliminated in July, the lowest figure in 11 months. The data resulted from research conducted by Challenger, Gray and Christmas.

"Companies, tired of laying off needed workers, are finding other ways to cut costs. Many have reduced hiring, but wages continue to rise, particularly for lower earners, for the time being," said Andy Challenger, the company's senior vice president.

At the same time, there was a substantial increase in worker productivity, which reached 3.7% during the second quarter, the most encouraging data since November 2020.

Regarding wages, total employee compensation increased 4.5% year-over-year in the second quarter, less than the 4.9% recorded in the first quarter of 2023, which was even lower than the 5.1% in the second quarter of 2022.

"The economy is doing better than expected, and a healthy labor market continues to support household spending, We continue to see a slowdown in wage growth without a broad-based job loss," said Nela Richardson, ADP's chief economist.

As reported by Voz Media, high-income earners are leaving states such as California and New York in favor of Texas or Florida. The real estate website, MyEListing, conducted an analysis measuring "wealth migration within the United States" and indicated that these two states (CA and NY) experienced a significant loss of high-income population due to Democratic tax policies implemented by their state leaders.

"The trend of tax migration is becoming more pronounced, with wealth gravitating to regions like Florida and Texas with more accommodating tax policies. The state's tax structure is one of the crucial elements fueling its attraction of wealth. The migration of wealth to these states has profound economic implications," they explained.