Monthly Archives: May 2024

The Naked Truth About Beer Prices

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Beer Prices have been skyrocketing under President Biden. And no, it isn’t your imagination. Then are accelerating to the upside again. Beer drinkers across the nation are not going to be happy.

In the chart below you will see the beer price index from breweries from the Producer Price Index(PPI) released today.

Source:

Series Id: PCU312120312120
Series Title: PPI industry data for Breweries, not seasonally adjusted
Industry: Breweries
Product: Breweries
Base Date: 198206

Under President Trump, beer prices never had an annual increase as high as just reported for a 12-month period.

And yet, under President Biden, we hit a peak of 6.93% for the 12 months ending January 2023, which fell to 1.25% for the 12 months ending February 2024. Prices are now accelerating again to the upside at 1.84% higher for the 12 months ending April 2024.

When will it end?

The Naked Truth About Labor Force Participation

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Labor Force Participation is the % of people working of those who are seeking work. Using the BLS data base tools, you can select criteria and time frames to see trends.

Trump Posts Highest Labor Force Participation During the Last 10 Years

Looking at the Labor Force Participation Rate for those above 25 years old by month, President Trump posted the highest participation rates. A rate of 64.7% was achieved in October and November in 2019.

Currently, we are at 63.7%, a full percentage point below peak employment as a percentage under President Biden. Were Biden to have the same LFP as Trump achieved, we’d have 1.58 million more people employed in the US today.

Conclusion: The US Economic Engine is not as robust as it has been in the past. The Federal Reserve Bank, which is charged with seeking peak employment, is not meeting its stated objective.

The Naked Truth About the April 2024 Non Farm Payroll Report

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The US economy added 802K jobs in April, down from April 2023 when 948k jobs were added.

Year to date, the US economy has lost 64k jobs per month, on average.

US employment peaked in November of 2023 at 157.87 million jobs.

Job Growth for the last 12 months ending April 2024 is 1.813%.

In April 2023, job growth for the 12 trailing months was 2.488%.

Summary: Job growth continues to decline in the US.