Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) said that while the July jobs report showed strong job growth, those numbers could be a &#8220;precursor&#8221; to &#8220;serious economic issues coming very shortly.&#8221;
Appearing on ABC&#8217;s &#8220;This Week with George Stephanopoulos&#8221; on Sunday, Rounds said that while the job figures were high, they masked the fact that soaring inflation meant payrolls are declining in value, so companies are still hiring.
&#8220;You talked about the possibility of a recession, we just saw that jobs report on Friday, 528,000 new jobs in July, 3.5% unemployment, that’s 50-year low,&#8221; host Stephanopoulos began.
&#8220;There are two parts that we want to remember,&#8221; Rounds <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/ThisWeek/video/sen-mike-rounds-88061623">responded</a>. &#8220;First of all, we know that our GDP has gone down the last two quarters, so let’s all recognize that’s accepted by everybody, that is down.&#8221;
&#8220;The second part is that, while we’re very happy to see the job growth, positive thing, remember that back in the 1970s, and moving into the 1980s, we actually saw job growth, because unless your wages are keeping up with inflation, payrolls actually go down in value. And so what you’re actually seeing, we believe, might be a precursor of what&#8217;s to come.&#8221;
&#8220;You&#8217;re gonna find out larger companies such as Walmart are starting to talk about to reduce the number of people they&#8217;re gonna be employing,&#8221; Rounds continued. &#8220;But in the meantime, if your wages&#8211; if you can save on wages because, as inflation goes up, the value of wages is not as great as it was, unless it&#8217;s also going up at the same or greater rate– well then, you can afford to have people stay on the payroll, and your payroll actually goes down compared to the products you’re producing or that you’re buying and moving through the market.&#8221;
&#8220;So while this is good and we want to see job growth, I don’t think we can necessarily say that this is not a precursor yet to probably some more serious economic issues coming very shortly,&#8221; he added. &#8220;We hope we’re building our way out of a recession but you don’t do that by raising taxes. You do it by promoting and expanding businesses, getting the economy rolling again.&#8221;
The economy added 528,000 jobs in July, as The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-july-jobs-report-528000-added-unemployment-down-to-3-5">reported</a> Friday, pushing the unemployment rate down to 3.5%. But that number may not be an accurate measure of the strength of the economy, experts noted. “The gain of 528K #jobs in July as the labor force participation rate fell to 62.1, means that most of the new jobs went to people who already had jobs,” economist <a href="https://twitter.com/PeterSchiff/status/1555541334374731776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1555541334374731776%7Ctwgr%5E67687a57aef49e925cb2d18126e753ced1a5fbab%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailywire.com%2Fnews%2Fu-s-july-jobs-report-528000-added-unemployment-down-to-3-5">Peter Schiff</a> tweeted.
“Collapsing real wages force many workers to moonlight to pay the bills. If the labor market were strong one job would be enough,” he added.

Mike Rounds

GOP Senator: Jobs Report Could Be A ‘Precursor’ Of ‘Serious Economic Issues Coming Very Shortly’

GOP Senator: Jobs Report Could Be A 'Precursor' Of 'Serious Economic Issues Coming Very Shortly'

Economy

Jobs

Recession

Republican

This Week

The United States added an estimated 528,000 jobs to the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/economy">economy</a> in the month of July, <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm">according</a> to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The unemployment rate also ticked down to 3.5% from 3.6%. The report smashed some economists&#8217; <a href="https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/stock-market-news-today-08-05-2022-jobs-report">estimation</a> of 258,000 jobs added and the U.S. economy has now added back all jobs lost due to the effect of COVID-19 measures.
The robust jobs report will likely give leeway for the Federal Reserve to introduce more interest rate hikes in September for the third straight time to help curb inflation.
While more than half a million jobs were added to the economy, the data indicates that wages are not keeping pace with rising inflation. According to the BLS, average hourly earnings jumped 0.5% in July. In June, the American economy experienced a record high inflation of 9.1% as consumer prices skyrocketed across the economy.
In reaction to the news, former Trump adviser Steve Cortes tweeted, &#8220;Good Jobs headline number. Not real job creation &#8211; just finally back to pre shutdown levels.&#8221;
&#8220;But…by far the most important reality for Americans &#8211; esp middle and lower income citizens &#8211; is that Real Wages continue to crash, adjusted for the Inflation these &#8216;experts&#8217; created…,&#8221; he added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Good Jobs headline number. Not real job creation &#8211; just finally back to pre shutdown levels.
But…by far the most important reality for Americans &#8211; esp middle and lower income citizens &#8211; is that Real Wages continue to crash, adjusted for the Inflation these “experts” created… <a href="https://t.co/3SoyHTDAXZ">pic.twitter.com/3SoyHTDAXZ</a>
&mdash; Steve Cortes (@CortesSteve) <a href="https://twitter.com/CortesSteve/status/1555540672941379585?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 5, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The labor force participation stayed around 62.1%, an economic sign that some economists say is evidence that the economy is not as strong as the leading job figure may indicate.
&#8220;The gain of 528K #jobs in July as the labor force participation rate fell to 62.1, means that most of the new jobs went to people who already had jobs,&#8221; Peter Schiff wrote. &#8220;Collapsing real wages force many workers to moonlight to pay the bills. If the labor market were strong one job would be enough.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The gain of 528K <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/jobs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#jobs</a> in July as the labor force participation rate fell to 62.1, means that most of the new jobs went to people who already had jobs. Collapsing real wages force many workers to moonlight to pay the bills. If the labor market were strong one job would be enough.
&mdash; Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) <a href="https://twitter.com/PeterSchiff/status/1555541334374731776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 5, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Heritage Foundation expert E.J. Antoni also told The Daily Caller that the data is not as strong as it seems.
“Despite a blockbuster headline number, the labor market data continues to be a mixed bag,&#8221; he <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2022/08/05/u-s-economy-blows-the-roof-off-expected-job-gains-in-july/">explained</a>. &#8220;The labor force participation rate fell yet again in July, artificially pushing the unemployment number down.”
The numbers also crushed the White House&#8217;s own predictions.
On Thursday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre claimed that the economy was in a &#8220;transition&#8221; and &#8220;instead of that record-high breaking job numbers, that we&#8217;ve been seeing every month, in the realm of 500,00 &#8211; 600,000 jobs on average per month  we&#8217;re expecting  it to be closer to 150,000 jobs per month.&#8221;
&#8220;That would be a sign of a success of this transition&#8221; she added, noting that a smaller jobs report would be a sign of a &#8220;healthy economy.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Karine Jean-Pierre on coming jobs report:
&quot;Instead of that record-high breaking job numbers&#8230;we&#39;re expecting to be closer to 150,000 jobs per month&#8230; We see that&#8230;as a healthy economy.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/RcOlPuHNAG">pic.twitter.com/RcOlPuHNAG</a>
&mdash; Townhall.com (@townhallcom) <a href="https://twitter.com/townhallcom/status/1555285204369113088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 4, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
This is a developing story; please check back for updates.

25B78895-C8BC-4131-9965-02488A359D03_1_201_a

U.S. July Jobs Report: 528,000 Added, Unemployment Down To 3.5%

Biden

Yet another <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/texas">Texas</a>-based company is reacting to Roe v. Wade being overturned by offering employees money to choose <a href="https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&amp;ai=DChcSEwit5PCnmPb4AhWGjcgKHf-BDLgYABAAGgJxdQ&amp;sig=AOD64_32O74YHhCYv2v7NNO-D91_kVeK7Q&amp;q&amp;adurl&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjHzOmnmPb4AhV9FFkFHS4sABUQ0Qx6BAgCEAE">adoption</a> rather than <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/abortion">abortion</a>, according to an op-ed in <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/companies-should-support-adoption-not-abortion-opinion-1723563">Newsweek</a>.
Peter Rex is the founder and CEO of Rex, a tech <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jobs">company</a> oriented toward the real estate industry. He argues that businesses should invest in adoption for their best interests. Rex slams big companies that brag about offering abortion tourism, which means paying for their employees to travel to other states to get abortions if the procedure becomes illegal in their home state. 
Apple, Uber, Amazon, Citigroup, CVS Health, JP Morgan, Meta (Facebook), Tesla, Paramount, Patagonia, Microsoft, Paypal, Starbucks, and Disney are just a few of the big players to make this offer.  
“These businesses are ignoring the possibility that many employees may simply need a little more help to carry their baby to term. Instead of blindly paying people to end an unborn child&#8217;s life, companies should consider paying them to welcome that life into the world,” the tech company CEO argues.  
“That&#8217;s why my business has decided to give up to $7,500 to employees who want to have their baby and give it up for adoption… For me, the motivation for this policy is equal parts personal and professional. On the former front, I am passionately pro-life. Yet there&#8217;s also a strong corporate case to be made against abortion.”
Rex argues that there’s a definite link between abortion and mental health issues, which would reduce productivity and job satisfaction at work. He also says advocating abortion is “short-sighted.”
“Even if abortion somehow improves a current employee&#8217;s life, it also inherently ends another life of promise—that of the unborn child,” the CEO continues. “That means companies are literally limiting the future supply of workers and innovators… If for no other reason than pure self-interest, companies should want to expand the pool of human potential, not shrink it.”
Rex isn’t the only company instituting pro-life policies to counteract abortion tourism. Buffer Insurance, a Texas-based firm, made headlines for offering to pay the medical costs for employees who birth babies and provide paid time off for employees to have maternity and paternity leave. They also offered to pay for the medical costs associated with adopting a baby, The Daily Wire originally <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/texas-based-insurance-company-offers-employees-money-for-birth-adoption-in-response-to-roe-v-wade-being-overturned">reported</a>. 
A Facebook post from the company&#8217;s account offered to share its method with other businesses. “Employers: If you’d like to learn how you can provide these benefits to your employees, let us know. We have ready-to-use policies you can add to your employee handbooks. #Impact #WorthProtecting #BeThere #BufferInsurance #Buffer #RoeVWade #Employeehandbooks #OurChildrenAreWorthProtecting,” it said.

Photo of newborn baby fingers

Texas Company Offers Employees $7,500 To Choose Adoption Over Abortion, CEO Says It’s Good For Business

Texas Company Offers Employees $7,500 To Choose Adoption Over Abortion, CEO Says It's Good For Business

Abortion

Adoption

Texas

As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/unemployment">unemployment</a> remained at low levels in June, the portion of American adults participating in the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/jobs">job</a> market remains far below pre-<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/recession">recession</a> levels, according to a Friday news release from the U.S. <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm">Bureau of Labor Statistics</a>.
Unemployment remained at 3.6% for the fourth month in a row — approximately the same as February 2020, the month before COVID began spreading rapidly through the United States, according to the agency. The unemployment rate has therefore improved significantly from the 14.7% level <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/UNRATE">seen</a> in April 2020.
Yet the labor force participation rate — the percentage of people who either have a job or are actively looking for one — has not recovered since the recession. The metric <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CIVPART">dropped</a> from 66% in 2008 to 63% in 2020, then fell another 3% between February 2020 and April 2020 alone as COVID led to government lockdowns and business closures. Men, in particular, have seen a gradual <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS11300001">disengagement</a> from the labor force since the end of World War II.
As of June 2022, labor force participation is 62.2% — a slight decline from the 63.3% level seen in May 2022, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“There are 755,000 fewer Americans employed today than prior to the pandemic, even as the population age 16 and over has increased by 4.2 million,” Heritage Foundation research fellow and former U.S. Joint Economic Committee senior economist Rachel Greszler said in a statement provided to The Daily Wire. “This has caused massive struggles for employers and is directly contributing to inflation, as employers have to pay workers more to do the exact same work they were doing before. Yet, even as average earnings are up $3,100 over the past year, the average worker is $1,800 poorer after factoring in a $5,100 inflation tax.”
In 2020, median household income in the United States was roughly $67,500, according to the U.S. <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2021/demo/p60-273.html#:~:text=Median%20household%20income%20was%20%2467%2C521,median%20household%20income%20since%202011.">Census Bureau</a> — meaning that a $1,800 effective pay cut constitutes a 2.7% decline in the typical household’s earnings. Inflationary pressures have forced some Americans into <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bidens-economy-sends-americans-into-unretirement">unretirement</a>, according to job platform Indeed, which recently noted that roughly 3.2% of workers who were retired a year earlier are now employed once again.
Federal COVID stimulus, however, appeared to hamper labor market recovery, thereby worsening inflationary pressures. In March 2021, President Joe Biden <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bidenomics-getting-paid-to-stay-home">enacted</a> the American Rescue Plan — a $1.9 trillion package that extended the $300 weekly bonus unemployment benefits first passed under President Donald Trump through September 2021. Within a few months, half of American governors prematurely opted out of the extension.
A paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/surprise-enhanced-unemployment-benefits-significantly-increased-unemployment-study">confirmed</a> that states which left the program saw “the flow of unemployed workers into employment” increase by two-thirds.
“When it comes to maximizing employment,” Greszler continued, “the unintended consequences of many COVID-19 policies and federal interventions in the workforce demonstrate that while the temptation for policymakers is always to do more, the best way to increase employment is to abandon attempts to expand the government’s influence over people’s lives.”
Republicans on the Joint Economic Committee <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/report-welfare-is-encouraging-able-bodied-men-to-stay-voluntarily-out-of-work">noted</a> last year that only 12% of “inactive, prime-age, able-bodied men” desire a job or are <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/young-men-are-more-likely-than-ever-to-stay-jobless-remain-at-parents-homes">open to work</a>. Government welfare programs often disincentivize labor force participation for the demographic.
“Easing the labor shortage and alleviating inflation requires creating an environment in which more Americans want to pursue work and are able to maximize their productive capabilities,” Greszler added.

Close-up Of Unemployed Businessperson Carrying Cardboard Box

Americans Continue To Opt Out Of The Workforce

Labor Force Participation Lags Behind Pre-Recession Levels

Unemployment

A former production coordinator at Universal Music Enterprises was fired after<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/woke"> skipping</a> on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jobs">job</a> responsibilities to bemoan the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/supreme-court">Supreme Court</a> overturning <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/roe-v-wade">Roe v. Wade</a>.
In a viral LinkedIn <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/postlopez_pride-pridemonth-lgbtq-activity-6947259142164164608-EVZ6/?utm_source=linkedin_share&amp;utm_medium=member_desktop_web&amp;src=aff-lilpar&amp;veh=aff_src.aff-lilpar_c.partners_pkw.10078_plc.Skimbit%20Ltd._pcrid.nypost.com_learning&amp;trk=aff_src.aff-lilpar_c.partners_pkw.10078_plc.Skimbit%20Ltd._pcrid.nypost.com_learning&amp;clickid=RDQTFjTxlxyITBtTHLRcezukUkDwtTXxwzvsS80&amp;mcid=6851962469594763264&amp;irgwc=1">post</a>, Michael Lopez — who introduced himself as a “queer brown person” — said that he was “fired during Pride month for speaking up in defense of abortion rights.” Lopez explained that he was responsible every Friday for processing a report and sending his work to 275 people — a duty he neglected on the Friday that the Supreme Court announced its decision.
“I didn&#8217;t do them today,” he said in an email that appeared to be in response to a superior. “I&#8217;m in mourning due to the attack on people with uteruses in the US. Federally guaranteed access to abortion is gone.”
He then said that his employer “must stop donating to anti-abortion, anti-queer and anti-trans politicians” such as Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO), and Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-IN), or else “expect more unproductive days.” He concluded the email with the salutation “yours in fury.”
Lopez commented in his post that “it&#8217;s been hard to process how [companies] expect us to be productive while our rights are being stripped away” and noted that several coworkers sent him supportive emails. His manager even gave him the rest of the day off. Yet he predicted that “based on management&#8217;s response, there was a good possibility I might be fired as a result.”
Lopez alleged that he received a “surprise” video chat on June 27 from the human resources department informing him that he had been terminated for not doing his job and “disrupting the day of 275 people,” according to a paraphrase. He then sent a message to the members of the email list, saying that the company was “letting you know where they stand on employees speaking out on politicians that support marginalization for folks like me.”
“Their actions today, their silence on Friday are indicative of their motivations. Profit at all costs. Solidarity, only if it&#8217;s profitable,” Lopez concluded in his post. “And above all of that is maintaining the status quo and saying fuck you to the working class. Because that&#8217;s what happened today.”
A Universal Music Group spokesperson told <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/07/04/employee-who-refused-to-work-while-mourning-roe-v-wade-fired/?utm_source=NYPTwitter&amp;utm_campaign=SocialFlow&amp;utm_medium=SocialFlow">The New York Post</a> that although it cannot “discuss an individual’s personnel record” as a matter of policy, Lopez’s allegations are “inaccurate.” The spokesperson added that the company is ensuring “important healthcare services remain accessible to employees” and will continue to “financially support non-profit groups working in this area.”
A report for <a href="https://www.billboard.com/pro/roe-v-wade-overturned-music-companies-abortion-policies/">Billboard</a> revealed that other music companies are voicing support for abortion after the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which dealt with a Mississippi ban on the procedure after 15 weeks gestation.
Concert company Live Nation announced via social media that it would cover travel expenses for employees seeking “women’s healthcare services” across state lines, as well as bail expenses for employees arrested in peaceful protests. The company also matched a $500,000 donation from rapper Lizzo to abortion provider Planned Parenthood.
Entertainment company Oak View Group will also cover abortion-related travel expenses. “We fully support equal access for all women to obtain the proper care that they deem appropriate for their bodies,” a company statement said.

Employee Fired After He Skipped Work In ‘Mourning’ Over End Of Roe v. Wade

Employee Fired For Playing Hooky In Response To End Of Roe v. Wade

Roe v. Wade's Long And Brutal Legacy

Wokeness

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/netflix">Netflix</a> made another major cut to its staff Thursday, laying off 300 employees as the streaming company reels from hundreds of thousands of lost subscriptions.
Most of those losing their jobs will be in the U.S. and from multiple different departments within the company, <a href="https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/netflix-layoffs-fired-jobs-lost-1235301553/">according</a> to a report from Variety.
“Today we sadly let go of around 300 employees,” a Netflix spokesperson told the outlet. “While we continue to invest significantly in the business, we made these adjustments so that our costs are growing in line with our slower revenue growth. We are so grateful for everything they have done for Netflix and are working hard to support them through this difficult transition.”
Variety noted that this is the second mass layoff at the company in as many months. Netflix, which has roughly 11,000 staffers worldwide, laid off 150 employees and dozens of part-time and contract workers in May.
The cuts at the streaming giant come following dismal <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/netflix-to-fast-track-ad-supported-content-amid-financial-losses-report">reports</a> showing Netflix lost 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2022 and is expecting 2 million more to end their subscriptions in the second quarter. The major subscription losses dealt a blow to the company’s stock, which lost roughly 70% of its value.
In response to the subscription losses, Netflix reportedly looked to fast-track ad-supported content, according to a May <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/10/business/media/netflix-commercials.html?partner=slack&amp;smid=sl-share">report</a> in The New York Times.
“Executives said they were aiming to introduce an ad-supported, lower-priced subscription tier in the last three months of the year, quicker than originally indicated,” the Times wrote.
Many of the company&#8217;s competitors offer cheaper streaming options that earn revenue through ads. Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings told investors that Netflix would be introducing a similar offering “over the next year or two,” but now an internal memo appears to indicate that the change could happen by the end of this year instead, The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/netflix-to-fast-track-ad-supported-content-amid-financial-losses-report">reported</a>.
The surprising internal revelation came after Netflix had promised subscribers for years it would never run ads on the platform, but more competition from streaming services like Disney, Paramount, Peacock, and others has seemingly caused Netflix executives to reevaluate their strategy.
“With more new platforms for customers to choose from, and splashy and high-budget titles popping up on those services, increased pressure has been put on Netflix to attract and retain subscribers as it’s been losing valuable library content to companies bringing their content back home for their own streamers,” Variety added.

Netflix

Netflix Lays Off Hundreds More Amid Major Subscription Losses

Netflix Lays Off Hundreds Amid Major Subscription Losses

Enterainment

Hollywood

Three <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/uber">Uber</a> and <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/lyft">Lyft</a> drivers filed a class action lawsuit in <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/california">California</a> on Tuesday over alleged <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/antitrust">anticompetitive</a> practices that impact gig <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/economy">economy</a> workers.
The two firms “label their drivers independent contractors, yet deprive those drivers of economic independence by fixing the prices that drivers must charge to customers for rides,” according to the <a href="https://towardsjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Uber-Lyft-Complaint.6.20.2022-3.pdf">suit</a> filed by legal nonprofit Towards Justice, which argued that the drivers would have increased earnings under a regime with more pricing freedom.
“Uber and Lyft have insisted that they do not employ their drivers,” David Seligman, executive director of Towards Justice, said in a <a href="https://towardsjustice.org/2022/06/21/press-release-drivers-sue-to-block-uber-lyfts-illegal-price-fixing/">press release</a>. “But if Uber and Lyft are not employers responsible to their employees under labor standards laws, then they are powerful corporations that fix prices, abuse their power, and deceive the workers who drive their profits.”
Beyond the purported price fixing, the plaintiffs argue that Uber and Lyft have been taking greater portions of the sums that riders pay for the service.
Two years ago, a California court <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/uber-lyft-avoid-state-wide-shutdown-amidst-legal-battle-with-california">ruled in favor</a> of Uber and Lyft in a lawsuit that would have pressed the firms to classify independent contractors as employees. The most recent lawsuit against the firms also comes one year after Democratic lawmakers introduced the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which would <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-democrats-pro-act-three-things-you-need-to-know">narrow the definition</a> of an independent contractor under the guise of granting them more protections.
“Big Labor incrementally attacks any form of gig work, or contracting, and they come for ride sharing companies first,” Gabriella Hoffman, a freelance media strategist and Townhall columnist who has written extensively about the gig economy, told The Daily Wire. “If you poll rideshare drivers, however, they voluntarily go into this line of work and enjoy the flexibility that comes with the job.”
Indeed, Uber released a poll in 2020 showing that drivers preferred to remain as independent contractors when offered a handful of benefits by the company, according to <a href="https://www.axios.com/2020/08/25/uber-independent-contractors-employees-poll">Axios</a>. Another poll from Lyft likewise showed that most drivers preferred their contractor arrangements.
<a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2021/12/08/the-state-of-gig-work-in-2021/">Pew Research</a> found in 2021 that 16% of Americans — including 30% of Hispanics, 20% of African Americans, and 12% of whites — have participated in gig economy work, such as shopping for and delivering groceries, cleaning homes, or delivering packages. Young Americans and those with low incomes are most likely to earn money through a gig platform.
“Independent contracting liberates workers from the constraints of traditional work — including unionized jobs,” Hoffman argued. “Workers want more flexibility and freedom to be more fulfilled in their careers. &#8230; Freelancing, as a whole, is a pro-family, pro-free enterprise, pro-free market policy that empowers individuals. And it&#8217;s a great option for women who juggle career and family.”
Although unemployment is presently 3.6% and wages are nominally rising, real average hourly wages <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/realer.nr0.htm">dropped</a> 3% between May 2021 and May 2022 amid rising inflation — meaning that Americans must tighten their budgets or work more than last year to enjoy the same standard of living. Accordingly, a poll taken earlier this year by <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220413006071/en/Rising-Inflation-Leads-More-Workers-to-the-Gig-Economy-Citing-Increased-Expenses-and-Fuel-Costs">Branch and Marqeta</a> showed that 85% of respondents “increased or planned to increase their gig work,” with 58% “citing inflation as the primary reason.”

Close up of young woman using mobile app device on smartphone to arrange taxi ride in downtown city street, with illuminated busy city traffic scene during rush hour with traffic congestion in the evening

New Legal Battle Begins Over Gig Economy Work At Uber And Lyft

Uber And Lyft Drivers Sue Companies For Antitrust Violation

Antitrust

California

Lyft

Uber

New <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/unemployment">jobless</a> claims spiked to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jobs">levels</a> not seen since January, according to a Thursday <a href="https://www.dol.gov/ui/data.pdf">report</a> from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration.
The United States saw 229,000 seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims — which are filed by a jobless individual after a separation from an employer — for the week ending on June 4. The claims exceed the Dow Jones estimate of 210,000, according to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/09/us-weekly-jobless-claims.html">CNBC</a>.
David Bahnsen, the founder of Manhattan-based wealth management firm The Bahnsen Group, told The Daily Wire that 229,000 new weekly claims are “still a very low number.” He remarked that although he believes there will be a shift into employer pessimism, “this isn’t it yet.”
Weekly claims surpassed 6 million in April 2020 amid COVID-19 and the lockdown-induced recession, more Department of Labor <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/ICSA">data</a> indicate. The labor market has since seen continuous recovery — reaching a post-recession low of 166,000 weekly claims in March 2022 before the current moderate spike. The results for the first week of June are similar to levels from January of this year.
Other recent reports indicate a mild slowdown in employment gains. Payroll processing company ADP <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-economy-sees-worst-month-for-employment-growth-since-april-2020-small-businesses-hardest-hit-report">announced</a> last week that the private sector created 128,000 new jobs in the month of May — missing the Dow Jones estimate of 299,000 and falling from 202,000 new jobs created in April. The results represented the worst job growth figures since mass layoffs sent 19 million workers home in April 2020.
Companies with fewer than 50 workers saw payrolls fall by 91,000. The majority of the aforementioned layoffs — 78,000 — were experienced by companies with fewer than 20 workers.
“Under a backdrop of a tight labor market and elevated inflation, monthly job gains are closer to pre-pandemic levels,” ADP chief economist Nela Richardson said, per CNBC. “The job growth rate of hiring has tempered across all industries, while small businesses remain a source of concern as they struggle to keep up with larger firms that have been booming as of late.”
Many economists consider the labor market to be a bright spot amid multiple economic headwinds — including rising price levels, supply chain woes, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. After nearing 15% following government lockdown orders in the spring of 2020, unemployment rates gradually fell to their current levels of 3.6%, according to <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/UNRATE">data</a> from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Accordingly, messaging from the Biden administration has focused on high employment — without recognizing that much of the job growth occurred as the United States regained lost positions rather than creating new ones from scratch.
“President Biden is building a better America,” a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrats-praise-bidens-failing-economy-in-star-wars-day-themed-promo">post</a> from the White House claimed in May. “The U.S. economy has added nearly 8 million jobs since President Biden took office and experienced the greatest year of job growth under any President in history last year.”
Likewise, a January tweet from the White House highlighted job gains under Biden as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-admin-blasted-online-for-graph-claiming-biden-created-most-monthly-jobs-ever">several times higher</a> than his predecessors. The message, however, failed to recognize that the White House was comparing gains over the course of one year to predecessors’ four-year and eight-year terms. “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch,” Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler remarked.
Though unemployment remains low, inflation has led to a <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/realer.nr0.htm#:~:text=From%20April%202021%20to%20April%202022%2C%20real%20average%20hourly%20earnings,weekly%20earnings%20over%20this%20period.">decrease</a> in real average hourly earnings — meaning that Americans must work more to enjoy the same standard of living witnessed before the post-recession inflation hikes.

Now hiring.

New Jobless Claims Hit Highest Rate Since January

Weekly Unemployment Claims See Uptick

2022 Election

Biden Administration

Over 3,300 <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/unemployment">employees</a> from 70 British companies started participating in a four-day <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jobs">workweek</a> pilot program on Monday.
The initiative — led by nonprofits 4 Day Week Global, 4 Day Week UK Campaign, and Autonomy — will last for six months. Employees will receive full pay despite working only 80% of their usual week, with the promise of maintaining 100% of their productivity. Participating businesses range across several industries, with researchers from Cambridge University, Oxford University, and Boston College monitoring the results.
“After the pandemic, people want a work-life balance,” Joe Ryle, the campaign director for the 4 Day Week Campaign, said in an interview with <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/06/business/uk-four-day-work-week.html">The New York Times</a>. “They want to be working less.”
American lawmakers have floated permanent proposals similar to the one modeled in the pilot. In California, for example, legislators <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/california-lawmakers-propose-4-day-workweek">introduced a bill</a> that would reduce the workweek from 40 hours to 32 hours for companies with more than 500 employees. Those who work more than 32 hours would receive time and a half pay.
David Bahnsen, the founder of Manhattan-based wealth management firm The Bahnsen Group, told The Daily Wire that the United States has seen a “deterioration in regard for work” since the recession of 2008.
“I do not believe it could last, though, as places that refuse to get on board will so substantially out-produce and out-perform those that do implement such folly that market forces would deal with it accordingly,” he predicted.
Labor force participation rates dropped from 66% in 2008 to 63% in 2020, according to data from the <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CIVPART">U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics</a>. The metric dropped another 3% between February 2020 and April 2020 alone as COVID-19 led to government lockdowns and business closures. As of May 2022, labor force participation is 62.3%. Men, in particular, have seen a gradual <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS11300001">disengagement</a> from the labor force since the end of World War II.
Bahnsen characterizes the phenomenon as originating in culture rather than market conditions.
“What has changed in Western culture about work has been a change in the culture creating a change in labor markets — not a change in labor markets adjusting the culture,” he explained. “The cause and effect is important here. Greater secularization, especially post-1960s, has led to a decline in regard for work.”
Yet the phenomenon has not applied equally to all strata of society.
“Where there has been a higher regard for social norms and achievement, the high regard for careerism and work has stayed robust,” Bahnsen continued. “The top 20% in socioeconomic metrics have a high regard for work, where the value placed on the dignity of work and the value of work has declined in the lower 80%.”
Even after economic growth resumed in 2020 and the labor market quickly began to recover, a federal program offering $300 in weekly enhanced unemployment insurance remained intact in roughly half of states through much of 2021. According to a paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, the benefits significantly increased the number of Americans who were <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/surprise-enhanced-unemployment-benefits-significantly-increased-unemployment-study">unwilling to work</a>, as indicated by data from states that prematurely nixed the program in favor of faster labor market recovery.
“Western Europe has led the way down in this regard and the U.S. is somewhat trying to catch up, but gratefully not at a rapid pace,” Bahnsen said of negative cultural attitudes toward work. “Where there is high regard for work today is in pockets of South America and southeast Asia.”

US-HEALTH-VIRUS

The World’s Largest Four-Day Workweek Pilot Program Just Began. Could It Come To The United States?

British Companies Launch World's Largest Four-Day Workweek Pilot Program

labor shortage

United Kingdom

Tesla CEO Elon Musk wants to slash 10% of jobs at the company due to his “super bad feeling” about the economy, according to a Friday report from <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/exclusive-musk-says-tesla-needs-cut-staff-by-10-pauses-all-hiring-2022-06-03/">Reuters</a>.
The United States economy shrank at a 1.5% annualized rate in the first quarter of 2022, according to the <a href="https://www.bea.gov/sites/default/files/2022-05/gdp1q22_2nd.pdf">Bureau of Economic Analysis</a>, which associates recessions with <a href="https://www.bea.gov/help/glossary?title_1=All&amp;title=&amp;page=6#:~:text=The%20NBER%20recession%20is%20a,well%20as%20quarterly%20GDP%20growth.">two consecutive quarters</a> of negative growth.
In a Thursday email to executives seen by Reuters, Musk instructed Tesla to “pause all hiring worldwide” and said that the company needs to cut 10% of jobs. Tesla currently has more than 99,000 employees, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/01/technology/elon-musk-tesla-spacex-office.html">The New York Times</a> reported.
Before the most recent news on economic activity, the U.S. had been <a href="https://www.bea.gov/news/2022/gross-domestic-product-fourth-quarter-and-year-2021-advance-estimate">recovering</a> from COVID-19 and the lockdown-induced recession — growing at a strong 5.7% in 2021 after contracting 3.4% in 2020. The economy, however, has also been troubled by numerous phenomena — including <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/consumers-disliked-2021s-economy-more-than-2020s">persistent inflation</a>, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-slammed-for-remarks-on-enormously-high-gas-prices-theyre-saying-the-quiet-part-out-loud-now">high gas prices</a>, and the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/economist-warns-that-world-is-in-early-stages-of-very-significant-recession">Russian invasion of Ukraine</a>.
The message comes two days after Musk <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/musk-remote-work-is-no-longer-acceptable-at-tesla">said in another email</a> that “remote work is no longer” acceptable at Tesla.
“If there are particularly exceptional contributors for whom this is impossible, I will review and approve those exceptions directly,” he noted, adding that the workplace “must be a main Tesla office, not a remote branch office unrelated to the job duties, for example being responsible for Fremont factory human relations, but having your office in another state.”
Replying to a Twitter commenter asking for a response to people who believe “coming into work is an antiquated concept,” Musk said: “They should pretend to work somewhere else.”
Musk is not the only business leader worried about economic calamity. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said on Wednesday that his company is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/top-banker-brace-yourself-for-looming-economic-hurricane?%3Futm_source=twitter">bracing itself</a> for a looming economic “hurricane.”
“Right now, it’s kind of sunny, things are doing fine, everyone thinks the Fed can handle this,” Dimon said. “That hurricane is right out there, down the road, coming our way.” He added that no one knows if the hurricane is “a minor one or Superstorm Sandy&#8221; and said the investment bank would be “very conservative” with its balance sheet.
Many executives believe that inflation poses a salient risk to economic futures. Bridgewater Associates co-CIO Bob Prince, for example, said the economy is “on the cusp of” <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/economy-on-the-cusp-of-stagflation-seen-in-under-jimmy-carter-warns-asset-management-exec">stagflation</a> during an interview last week at the World Economic Forum.
“The markets are under-discounting the inflation picture,” Prince explained. “The sustainability, the self-reinforcing of the inflation is not discounted. The degree of tightening over time is not discounted.”
Also last week, Pershing Square Capital Management CEO Bill Ackman argued that there are two ways the U.S. can <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/top-hedge-fund-manager-sees-two-ways-out-of-soaring-inflation-and-neither-one-is-pretty">escape soaring inflation</a> — the Federal Reserve taking a hardline stance on price levels or an economic collapse.
“The only way to stop today’s raging inflation is with aggressive monetary tightening or with a collapse in the economy,” Ackman said. “There is no prospect for a material reduction in inflation unless the Fed aggressively raises rates, or the stock market crashes, catalyzing an economic collapse and demand destruction.”
Consumer confidence — a fundamental statistic for the direction of the United States economy — has been <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/UMCSENT">trending downward</a> since the summer of 2021, according to the University of Michigan’s Survey of Consumers. Polls indicate that inflation and gas prices are giving consumers pause as they plan for summer spending. When Echelon Insights, for example, asked consumers whether the higher prices have induced a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/summer-canceled-inflation-kills-vacations-summer-camp-for-kids-poll-finds">change of plans or cancellation</a> of family trips, 51% answered positively.

Elon Musk

Elon Musk Has A ‘Super Bad Feeling’ About The Economy, Wants A Massive Layoff At Tesla

Elon Musk Has A 'Super Bad Feeling' About The Economy, Wants To Lay Off 10% Of Tesla

Inflation

Tesla

The United States economy saw the most sluggish month for job growth since COVID-19 and the lockdown-induced recession, according to a Thursday report from ADP.
The payroll processing company reported 128,000 new private sector jobs in the month of May — severely missing the 299,000 estimated by Dow Jones and falling from the 202,000 new jobs created in April, according to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/02/adp-jobs-report-may-2022.html">CNBC</a>. The results, which come amid news that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/united-states-economy-shrinks-in-the-first-part-of-2022">the United States economy shrank</a> at a 1.5% annualized rate in the first quarter of 2022, constitute the worst employment figures since COVID-19-induced layoffs sent 19 million workers home in April 2020.
Companies with fewer than 50 workers saw payrolls decline by 91,000 employees, CNBC said. The majority of the layoffs — 78,000 — were experienced by companies with fewer than 20 workers.
“Under a backdrop of a tight labor market and elevated inflation, monthly job gains are closer to pre-pandemic levels,” ADP chief economist Nela Richardson said, per CNBC. “The job growth rate of hiring has tempered across all industries, while small businesses remain a source of concern as they struggle to keep up with larger firms that have been booming as of late.”
Between February 2020 and April 2020, the unemployment rate soared from 3.5% to 14.7% — the highest in the modern era, according to data from the <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/UNRATE">U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics</a>. Unemployment has since fallen to 3.6% as of April 2022, nearing pre-recession levels.
In a Monday <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/my-plan-for-fighting-inflation-joe-biden-gas-prices-economy-unemployment-jobs-covid-11653940654?mod=opinion_major_pos5">op-ed</a> for The Wall Street Journal, President Joe Biden warned that the job recovery would likely slow down as firms finish regaining the positions lost during the recession. However, the most recent job creation figures may already be worse than Biden forecasted.
“During this transition, growth will look different. We will likely see fewer record job-creation numbers, but this won’t be cause for concern,” Biden wrote. “Rather, if average monthly job creation shifts in the next year from current levels of 500,000 to something closer to 150,000, it will be a sign that we are successfully moving into the next phase of recovery — as this kind of job growth is consistent with a low unemployment rate and a healthy economy.”
Beyond the most recent disappointing job figures, the Biden administration has repeatedly sought to take credit for employment rebounds since the recession — without recognizing that much of the job growth occurred as the United States regained lost positions rather than creating new ones from scratch.
“President Biden is building a better America,” a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrats-praise-bidens-failing-economy-in-star-wars-day-themed-promo">post</a> from the White House claimed in May. “The U.S. economy has added nearly 8 million jobs since President Biden took office and experienced the greatest year of job growth under any President in history last year.”
Likewise, a January tweet from the White House depicted job gains under Biden as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-admin-blasted-online-for-graph-claiming-biden-created-most-monthly-jobs-ever">several times higher</a> than his predecessors. Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler pointed out that the claim was incomplete at best: “A huge problem with this apples-and-oranges chart: It compares monthly job growth of 4- and 8-year terms with just one year of Biden. Trump used to do the same thing — until his record was spoiled by the job losses in his last year. Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.”

Joe Biden

U.S. Economy Sees Worst Month For Employment Growth Since April 2020, Small Businesses Hardest Hit: Report

Economy Sees Sluggish Employment Gain, Hitting Less Than Half Of Forecasted New Jobs: Report

Some Los Angeles County lifeguards protecting California beachgoers are making a hefty salary.
 “This has been years in the making,” Adam Andrzejewski, founder and CEO of government spending tracker OpenTheBooks.com, told The Daily Wire.
A recent <a href="https://openthebooks.substack.com/p/top-paid-la-lifeguards-earned-up?s=r">report</a> by OpenTheBooks.com found that some lifeguards made up to $392,000 in 2019, but today, the salary and benefits are even more substantial.
Daniel Douglas, the highest-paid lifeguard, made $510,283, up from $442,712 in 2020. He earned more than 1,000 of his fellow lifeguards, with a salary of $150,054, added perks of $28,661, benefits in the amount of $85,508, and $246,060 in overtime compensation.
The person with the next highest earnings was lifeguard chief Fernando Boiteux, who earned $463,517 — an increase from $393,137 last year.
Andrzejewski told The Daily Wire that each year, OpenTheBooks auditors capture “virtually every public employee salary record at every level — federal, state, and local across the country” through Freedom of Information Act requests.
They then use forensic auditing to examine “egregious circumstances,” of which he said the LA lifeguards’ compensated perks and pensions are a significant example of “taxpayer abuse.”
Auditors at the site discovered that 98 lifeguards in Los Angeles County made at least $200,000 with benefits last year, and 20 earned between $300,000 and $510,283.
The perks keep going, with LA County lifeguards allowed to retire at age 55 with 79% of their compensation after they’ve worked for thirty years.
The report also discovered that most of the top-earning lifeguards were men — 18 out of 20. Lifeguard captain Virginia Rupe made $307,664 in 16th place, and Lauren Dale, an ocean lifeguard specialist, made $303,518 in 19th place. However, according to <a href="https://www.zippia.com/beach-lifeguard-jobs/demographics/">Zippia</a>, a job-finding site, 67% of beach lifeguards in the U.S. are men, and only 33% are female.
The group pointed out that lifeguards also continued to work during the pandemic — sometimes by carrying out stay-at-home mandates, helping at COVID testing locations, or <a href="https://time.com/5832968/lifeguards-coronavirus/">through</a> water rescues.
Overtime compensation is also a massive factor in the mega salaries. Last year, 37 lifeguards earned overtime from $50,000 to $247,000. In a six-year span, between 2016 and 2021, the top three high earners garnered between $505,579 and $980,007 in just overtime earnings.
Sometimes, lifeguards are awarded for acts of bravery, but the OpenTheBooks report noted that many lifeguards who won Valor Awards didn’t get top earnings. However, some winners of Exemplary Service Awards did earn leading salaries.
Pool lifeguards, on the other hand, don’t make nearly as much, with the top paid “pool lifeguard” earning $45,030 with benefits and pay.
Andrzejewski said the LA County lifeguards are “outliers” as far as the earnings of their peers in California and throughout the country. When asked why he thinks the pool lifeguards are making so much less than the beach lifeguards in California, he told The Daily Wire in a statement over email, &#8220;This is a question the LA taxpayer should be asking. Why can the county hire ten pool lifeguards for the price of a top-paid beach lifeguard?”
“Baywatch lifeguards have staggering comp packages and it is unsustainable. On its face, a lifeguard paid over a half million dollars is just ridiculous. Taxpayers understand this,” he said.
Pool lifeguards and beach lifeguards, however, do not share exactly the same responsibilities. The Lifeguard Store <a href="https://thelifeguardstore.com/blog/pool-guard-vs-ocean-guard-responsibilities/#:~:text=An%20ocean%20and%20beach%20lifeguard,more%20unpredictable%20than%20a%20pool.">notes</a> that an ocean lifeguard “undergoes a slightly more rigorous training and certification regimen than pool lifeguards because of the different working environment.” Since lifeguards at the beach are working outside in a natural source of water, the situations are not as foreseeable as those that can happen at a pool. Beach lifeguards receive training to deal with ocean water conditions, as well as the possibility of dangerous weather.

Menu