employment

It’s Not All Bad News? A Closer Look at Some Newsworthy Numbers
photo shows a stack of folded newspapers on a wooden table

The number of numbers in the news can be… overwhelming, at times. Records of all kinds are broken every day, but here’s the good news: it’s not all bad news.

Trends ebb and flow, and we’re noticing some promising signs. Let’s break down a few.

First, remember that life is a mixed bag. The past two years have brought considerable heartbreak and stress, but any change also tends to make way for new growth.

Anecdotally, we’ve been heartened by the number of stories we’ve heard from you about businesses using their downtime well. Closures gave many folks the opportunity to refurbish or expand their operations—your coffee shop opening a new location, your favorite storefront getting some much-needed repairs. And so many grocery stores and retailers continue to develop their services, like the infrastructure for easier pickups and deliveries.

And then some numbers take a little more consideration to appreciate. For example, the most recently released data suggest that it’s quitting time for many Americans. In the final months of 2021, more Americans than ever were leaving jobs—by the millions—DealBook reports. This can be a great sign, as quits tend to happen when workers feel the outlook is good, that something better must be next. A quit trend like this sometimes accompanies a period of fast economic growth. No guarantees, but at least the sentiment is that many are looking forward to a better future.

Another bright spot is the surge in business applications: Americans are starting new businesses at the fastest pace in years. The New York Times explains that the number of business applications rose 25% from 2020 to 2021. That’s typically a sign of new energy being generated in the economy. When the rate of business formation is slow, it’s a sign that jobs are going stale, business relationships can get strained and rigid. Upheaval, however, has many working people rethinking their opportunities.

All this is to say that things are moving, things are changing. It’s never all good news; it’s never all bad news. We’ll be here. We’ll keep at it.

And we’re glad you’re with us.

Clients, got any numbers worth discussing? Call or write, anytime.

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It's Not All Bad News? A Closer Look at Newsworthy Numbers – 228Main.com Presents: The Best of Leibman Financial Services

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Work from Where?

woman at desk with feet up working with paper, pen, and a computer in a home office

Location, location, location—this real estate cliché is now dominating conversations about the changing world of work. Many businesses are learning a thing or two about the value of where work happens, and many leaders have said they intend to keep at least part of their workforce remote even after we’re through the limitations of COVID-19.

We’ve been thinking a lot about locale in recent years. I picked up a snowbird routine in 2010, and we launched our digital presence in earnest in 2015. Some of our “office” staff are rarely in the office—the one at 228 Main Street, at least.

From these experiences, we’ve learned a lesson that many business leaders are grappling with now: the fundamental question may not be where work needs to happen, but how it needs to happen. We’ve even shared with you about what we call the “URL–IRL connection,” the way our work online and our work in-person go together.

Yes, right now, the pandemic is putting some clear constraints on the question of location, but it would be a pity to come away from this challenging time with the wrong lesson. It’s not that WFH (“working from home”) is universally superior to working in a company office setting. It’s not that an office is superior to a WFH arrangement.

As Forbes contributor Laurel Farrer explained, what would happen if we focused on work as a thing we do and not a place we go? The short answer is that we make decisions based on the fundamentals. What do I need to get my work done?

Clients, we will continue to adapt—to changes in our lives, to changes in your needs, and to the world around us. Wherever life takes us, our work keeps us connected to you. And we are so grateful for that. Write or call anytime.

The Meaning of Money

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Is money the root of all evil? Or is it what makes the world go ‘round? What IS the meaning of money?

Most of us receive most of the money we will ever make in exchange for our efforts. Our labor, our knowledge, our skills may be sold to employers if we are workers. They may be sold to customers or clients if we are in business. For this reason, in large part, money is the residue of the sweat we make while providing value to others.

What could be more noble than this symbol of being worthwhile to the rest of society?

In this framework, a 401(k) balance at retirement may be the end result of a lifetime of effort. An inheritance might represent two or more lifetimes of hard work. What could be more worthy of our best efforts to preserve and extend it?

While its sources are of interest, the uses of money have come into sharp focus for me recently. For the most part, my material needs are few. But money has become a vital factor in securing the health and welfare of loved ones.

The recent severe weather has resulted in hardship, pain, suffering and sometimes death for those who could not avoid its effects, or afford backup systems to meet special health needs. Oxygen concentrators require electricity, which sometimes fails. Refrigeration is needed for some kinds of life-sustaining medicine. Mobility is required to avoid some dangerous situations. All of this takes money.

When the power failed, we had a backup generator. When the storm threatened, we could leave the area. When the oxygen concentrator failed, we had another source. All of these things take money. And we had it.

Cathy’s care for children and work in the corporate world produced some of it. My efforts to help people with their plans and investing made some of it. Being good stewards of the amounts we were able to save provided some of it. The money came from worthy efforts, and it does important and worthy things for us.

Is money (or more properly, the love of money) the root of all evil? I don’t think so. It may be the evidence of lives of service and thrift. Luck? Certainly good fortune plays a role. And ill fortune surely plays a role in some people not having much of the stuff. We each must come to our own understanding of the meaning of money. This is mine.

Clients, if you would like to talk about this or any other pertinent topic, please email us or call.

The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.

Investing involves risks including possible loss of principal.

The Robots Are Coming!

© Can Stock Photo Inc. / bogdanhoda

Some forecast that there will be no jobs in the future, as software and robots and other forms of mechanization take over more and more tasks now performed by actual people. To understand the issue, we need context and background.

Manufacturing output in the US is near record levels, up 30% from the recession levels of 2009. Yet manufacturing employment peaked in 1979 at 19 million workers. The total today is around 12 million workers1. One might say ‘The robots are already here.’

While seven million manufacturing jobs were lost, fifty million jobs were added to the total. Manufacturing jobs were not the only ones that disappeared, however. Millions of other jobs became obsolete. File clerks, telephone operators, laborers with shovels, elevator operators, secretaries, and farm workers were displaced by new machines and new methods.

In a dynamic economy, we perpetually do more with less. In the year 1900, 40% of Americans were engaged in producing our food2. When that declined to under 2%, we didn’t end up with 38% unemployment.

There is another way to look at it. Tens of millions of people are now engaged in occupations that did not exist forty years ago, near the peak in manufacturing employment. Similar change happened between 1900 and 1940, and 1940 to 1980. Why would we doubt that 2010 to 2050 would be any different?

A recent report in the European Parliament concluded that “Humankind stands on the threshold of an era when ever more sophisticated robots, bots, androids and other manifestations of artificial intelligence (‘AI’) seem poised to unleash a new industrial revolution, which is likely to leave no stratum of society untouched.” This presents more opportunity for society than danger, if history is any guide.

It’s going to be exciting. Please call us or write with questions or concerns.

1,2Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.