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Director of Corporate Work Study at Cristo Rey Atlanta Jesuit High School Najgee Gatson talks about partnering with companies across Metro Atlanta to help students achieve success.

The following is commentary by Mitchell Barnes, Economist, Labor Markets, The Conference Board:

US payrolls stabilized to add 227,000 in November following October disruptions from weather and strike events. The pace of job growth in the second half of 2024 now averages 137,000, below 2019 levels but consistent with healthy gains and an economy near full-employment.

The unemployment rate edged up to 4.2% reflecting a rise in permanent job losses, yet layoffs remain subdued overall and initial unemployment claims have not risen in tandem. Labor force exits jumped in November, likely driven by ongoing retirements, underscoring demographic challenges even as new entrants continue to add to the workforce.

The US labor market remains on healthy footing heading into year end. Looking ahead, signals of rising confidence among businesses and job-seekers bring cautious optimism to our 2025 labor market outlook. Moreover, reduced uncertainty post-election and Federal Reserve interest rate cuts will help lift hiring demand and maintain labor market’s strength.

Trusted Insights for What’s Ahead™:

• November payrolls added 227,000 jobs, recovering from October’s weather and strike disruptions, with payrolls growing broadly across sectors.

• The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2%, driven by permanent job losses for the second consecutive month, but layoffs continue to remain low overall.

• Earnings growth remains at 4% year-over-year, topping expectations of a continued decline. Growth in average hourly earnings now shows a reacceleration trend over 2H 2024, underscoring the persistence of talent challenges.

• High employment and strong incomes, coupled with rising consumer and business confidence, offer cautious optimism for the labor market outlook in 2025.

REPORT HIGHLIGHTS:

Payrolls Stabilize as Storm Impacts Subside

US payrolls added 227,000 in November, reflecting catch-up from October’s disruption-impacted report. While September and October’s gains were revised upward, the slowdown in employment growth is evident. The average gains in the second half of 2024 now stand at 137,000—fewer than the 166,000 pace in 2019—but this is potentially still a rate that maintains levels close to full employment.

Job gains continue to be concentrated in a handful of sectors. Healthcare continued to lead in job creation, adding 72,000 workers, while government hiring slowed slightly to add 33,000. Sectors hardest hit by weather and strikes—including manufacturing and construction—showed some recovery. Manufacturing employment ticked up by 22,000, recouping about half of October’s losses tied to strikes, while construction added 10,000.

Notably, payrolls were strong in leisure and hospitality, which added 53,000 workers in November with gains in each of restaurants, entertainment, and accommodations. The retail sector continued its 2H 2024 trend of shedding workers, losing an additional 28,000  in November on a seasonally-adjusted basis. Given indications of strong holiday sales and activity, November’s decline in retail employment could reflect holiday shopping shifting from in-person to online.

Unemployment Rises Moderately from Job Losses

The Household Survey showed substantial workforce churn in November with the unemployment rate increasing to 4.2% from 4.1%. The number of unemployed individuals rose by 161,000 as permanent job losses increased for the second consecutive month. Of the roughly 170,000 temporary and permanent layoffs reported in October, which we partially attributed to weather and strike impacts, only 50,000 appear to have been recovered in November, seen in the decline in temporarily laid-off. Household employment fell by 355,000 in November, while those outside the labor force increased 368,000. Labor force exits in November were driven by an increase in respondents that “do not want a job now,” likely related to retirement of the aging US workforce. That decline is not a meaningful indicator of weakness but does undergird concern of talent shortages and demographic challenges to labor force growth.

New and returning workforce entrants may compensate for retirements, but the job-finding environment has been less accommodating and these workers continue to lift unemployment by an outsize share.

Hiring Remains in Focus

While the labor market remains healthy, the pace of hiring continues to slow going into 2025. November’s report showed the job-finding rate from unemployment falling to the lowest level of the post-pandemic period. Meanwhile, the overall JOLTS hiring rate is comparable to 2013 and has remained in that range for several months. These dynamics could partially reflect the composition of the types of people looking for work as we continue to see the US economy at near full-employment but the slowdown is evident when compared to pre-pandemic rates.

The consecutive increases in permanent job losses is a warning that unemployment could increase in 2025 if layoffs begin rising without a pickup in hiring. While unemployment has remained stable over 2H 2024, the duration of unemployed workers continues to expand. Workers unemployed for 27 weeks or more now makeup more than 23% of total unemployed, a level comparable to 2017 which was relatively low. This supports the narrative that most all workers who want a job have one, while a more difficult hiring different environment faces those newly entering the market and those who experienced extended jobless over the pandemic period.

Wage Growth Continues Despite Softening Labor Market

Workers’ earnings growth reaccelerated in 2H 2024 following the slower pace of wage appreciation over 2022-2023. November’s 0.4 percentage point rise in average hourly earnings held year-over-year growth at 4%. Growth in pay for production and non-supervisory workers also rose slightly from midyear and stands at 3.9%. This intensification of wage pressures underscores that talent challenges continue in specific sectors and regions and are being amplified by ongoing low turnover and slowing labor force growth.

2025 Outlook Improving?

The US labor market remains resilient as the end of 2024 nears, despite recent concerns about a hiring slowdown. Signs of rising confidence among businesses and job seekers, coupled with reduced policy and interest rate uncertainty, bring cautious optimism of continued labor market strength in 2025.

JOLTS job openings rebounded in October to rise by 370,000, with particularly strong demand among small businesses. Meanwhile, the rate of worker quits rose to its highest level since May at 2.1%.

These trends are consistent with The Conference Board Measure of CEO Confidence® for 4Q 2024, which showed the highest share of CEOs since 2023 expecting employment expansion over the subsequent 12 months (Figure 6). The monthly Consumer Confidence Index® from The Conference Board also shows sentiment improving, with an increase in November driven by consumers assessments of jobs being currently “plentiful” and an improving 2025 outlook. Together, these data form an optimistic case for where the US labor market is today and its trajectory going into next year.

With the election now behind us, many business owners are planning for 2025. A recent KeyBank Small Business Flash Poll found 61% of respondents indicated they were likely to seek clarity and hold off on major business decisions until after the election, while only 12% said the election would have no impact on their 2025 planning. The poll also found business owners anticipate policy shifts will most affect areas such as:  

• Taxation (45%)

• Regulations (34%)

• Trade policies (31%)

“Small business owners faced many challenges in 2024, including political uncertainty,” said Mike Walters, President of Business Banking at KeyBank. “Despite challenges, they’ve displayed great resilience and patience navigating an election year. As they plan for 2025, it is important that they talk with their banker to develop strategies and explore solutions that can help them adapt to and persevere through potential policy shifts and changes.”

KeyBank’s recent Small Business Flash Poll also showed higher interest rates have impacted small business owners in many ways, including:

• 38% of respondents faced reduced profit margins

• 37% faced increased borrowing costs

• 31% have deferred capital investment due to high interest rates

At the same time, more than half of respondents (56%) expect interest rate changes to positively impact their businesses. The poll found they’ve adapted to the rate environment by increasing cash reserves (43%), reducing reliance on debt (37%), and diversifying funding sources (32%).

Methodology
This survey was conducted online by Survey Monkey, including 1,796 respondents, ages 18-99, located in the United States, who own or operate a small-to-medium size business with an annual gross revenue of less than $10 million, completed the survey in August 2024.

I’m getting tired of writing about politics.  Some of that is seasonal.  This was a Presidential election year, so everything has been politicized.  Elections are behind us, and holidays are ahead of us.  

It’s time for a break with a look ahead to what is next.  As such, you’re getting a New Year’s column a couple of weeks early.  I’m well into planning for it, and if you too are finding yourself in a bit of a rut, perhaps you should be too.

I don’t do “resolutions” for a variety of reasons. The resolutions we tend to make around New Year’s are somewhat Shakespearean.  They often lack sound and fury but too often signify nothing.  

If you or I really want to make changes and see results, we need to spend more than a few minutes coming up with a few platitudes about ourselves that sound nice, but are forgotten long before college football crowns a national champion.  There’s a difference between a resolution and a goal.  A real goal involves an actual plan.

In these plans, these goals need specificity.  They need metrics.  They must be realistic, have a deadline, and be measured along the way for progress.  

They need our attention daily.  We have to be honest with ourselves about what we really want to accomplish, how and when we’re going to do that, and our willingness to make adjustments when things don’t go according to the first draft.  

It’s also helpful to know what to do when we succeed. Do we go back to what we were doing, with all the old habits that caused the need for corrective action?  Do we know how to build on success?  

This part is often overlooked because with resolutions, we don’t really expect to succeed.  With true goal planning, we should not only chart a path of steps to get there, but we need to know what we hope to do once we have an achievement.  

Always, always build a reward in the plan for when goals are met.  We then must also build time to set a new plan for what’s next.  This shouldn’t wait until another year rolls around lest bad habits creep back in.

I have a process for this that I’ve used off and on for decades, born out of a time management class I was forced to take as a new corporate manager a couple of years out of college.  When I’ve used it, I’ve done well.  

When I’ve ignored it – sometimes good things happen and sometimes I’ve regressed.  Either way, I wasn’t controlling the narratives that ultimately were important to me.  That, at its center, is what a comprehensive personal plan should be about.  Not so much the control part, as we still have to react to people and events on a daily basis that we have absolutely no control over.  But we do have the power to determine how we react to and mitigate outside influence that are barriers to getting us what we want out of life.

I’ll use an example about exercise, as too many of us use the New Year as the time we say we’ll get in shape.  We all know that’s a justification for eating and drinking way too many calories over the holidays. We’ll get what we want today, and we’ll pay for it later. 

We then spend a few days flailing about at the gym or walking outside when it’s too cold. We get friends to promise to join us. Then, when they don’t show up, that’s our excuse to quit.  

What I’ve had the most difficult time with over the years in my battle with the gym was when and how to take personal responsibility to do things alone when my workout partner decided it was time to quit.  Sometimes it’s helpful to do things with others. Sometimes we need to be reminded that we’re the only ones responsible for ourselves and our outcomes.

I now do some form of exercise daily, and I haven’t missed a day in almost 6 years. I’ve found groups that I enjoy seeing at the gym, track, and pool.  I look forward to talking to them when they’re there. But the goal is independent of whether they show up or not.  

You’ve got a few weeks left to think about it.  If you must wait to start, don’t arbitrarily start on January 2^nd, and don’t try to change any habit starting on a Monday.  I beg of you to only try to change one major thing or habit at a time.

Most importantly, get a plan. Try something. Expect to fall short along the way. Start over when you do.  And, above all, remember that change is hard, but you’re the one in charge of making that happen – and celebrating your success when you do.

Travel Industry Conferences and Conventions — North America

Travel Business Conferences USA Canada For travel agents, travel startup entrepreneurs, tour operators, and destination marketing companies, travel conferences and expos represent a wonderful opportunity to connect, learn and celebrate being in the travel industry. Who doesn’t love traveling to a conference/trade show to get immersed in the industry they love? In this post, discover…

Celebrating its 20^th year, Bank of America’s signature Neighborhood Builders® program continues to be one of the nation’s largest philanthropic investments into nonprofit leadership development, while providing unique multiyear flexible grant funding annually to two high-impact nonprofits in nearly 100 communities nationwide. In Atlanta Bank of America has named Tommy Nobis Center (TNC) as a 2024 Neighborhood Builders for its work to provide youth and adults with disabilities with the training, education and resources needed to achieve their full potential through employment opportunities. The bank awarded Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership (ANDP) for its work to develop, finance and advocate for affordable housing with a focus on declining neighborhoods.

Both Atlanta nonprofits are each awarded a $200,000 grant over two years, comprehensive leadership training for each organization’s executive director and an emerging leader, and access to a national network of nonprofit peers. Since the program’s inception in 2004, 42 nonprofits have been selected as Neighborhood Builders in Atlanta, with the bank investing more than $8 million in philanthropic capital into these nonprofits

“This year we celebrate 20 years of strengthening Atlanta nonprofits that provide solutions to local challenges and promote economic advancement,” said Al McRae, president, Bank of America Atlanta. “Providing these nonprofits with flexible funding and comprehensive leadership training helps them address critical needs and create meaningful, lasting change in our communities. Countless individuals, families and neighborhoods have felt the profound impact that these Neighborhood Builder nonprofits have had in Atlanta over the past two decades.”  

For more than 47 years, Tommy Nobis Center has changed the lives of individuals with disabilities through the advancement of its mission: “Empowering People Through Employment.” TNC works with youth and young adults with disabilities as they transition out of high school to identify and prepare to work in desired careers that allow for economic freedom and more independent living. Their robust educational services are offered at their Academy as well as their Early Youth Employment Services, while actively serving in more than 54 schools in metro Atlanta. This new grant funding will support the expansion into a new facility, enabling the organization to serve a greater number of individuals with disabilities throughout the metro Atlanta area

“Tommy Nobis Center is a real business solution for companies that want to have a well-rounded workforce,” said Dave Ward, president and CEO, Tommy Nobis Center. “Bank of America has been a long-standing partner to us for many years, and this grant will allow us to serve more people and change more lives.”

The Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership works to expand the city’s supply of affordable housing and revitalize disinvested neighborhoods. It has supported construction of more than 11,000 homes for people with low-to-moderate incomes, offering down payment assistance to buyers and helping them make connections to other housing support programs that make homeownership affordable. The bank’s funding will support ANDP’s single-family acquisition strategy. ANDP is the first nonprofit in the county to develop a first-look relationship with a large national investor to review homes prior to them being placed on MLS with the option to purchase them at a discount. ANDP will prioritize homes for immediate homeownership but is also poised to benefit from this unique market opportunity by expanding its single-family rental portfolio over the next 24 months.

“At a pivotal moment in our history, Bank of America partnered with us to refine our systems and grow the scale and production of our acquisition model,” said John O’Callaghan, president & CEO, Neighborhood Development Partnership. “Today, with Bank of America’s investments, we produce 100 homeownership/rental homes per year.

Neighborhood Builders is part of the bank’s longstanding efforts to build thriving communities by addressing issues fundamental to economic opportunity. The invitation-only program is highly competitive, with awardees selected by a committee comprised of community leaders and past awardees. Since 2004, Bank of America has invested over $300 million in grants to nearly 1,800 nonprofits and helped more than 3,500 nonprofit leaders strengthen their leadership skills in nearly 100 communities across the U.S. through Neighborhood Builders and Champions.

The Neighborhood Builders invitation-only program is highly competitive. Nonprofits are selected by a committee comprised of community leaders and past Neighborhood Builders awardees. The first markets Bank of America launched the Neighborhood Builders program in 2004 were: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Broward, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Hartford, Houston, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Miami, Nashville, Newark, New York, Oakland, Orlando, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa and Washington, DC.  

Past Atlanta Neighborhood Builders include East Lake Foundation, The Literacy Lab’s Leading Men Fellowship, Atlanta Beltline Partnership, Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs, Latin American Association, YWCA and Open Hand Atlanta. 

 The tech workforce saw modest movement in the latest national employment data, according to CompTIA, the nonprofit association for the tech industry and workforce.

Analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) #JobsReport data reveals the tech unemployment rate for the month fell slightly to 2.5%, matching the low end of the rate for 2024. The national unemployment rate rose slightly to 4.2% in November. 

Employment within the technology industry sector was essentially flat with a decline of 1,636 jobs for the month.¹The tech sector employs nearly 5.6 million people, which translates to a percentage decline of essentially 0%. 

Tech professions throughout the economy declined by 6,000 in a national workforce of nearly 6.5 million workers.²

“While a flat month in the aggregate as some employers take a breather, the data continues to highlight the diversity of hiring activity across the tech workforce,” Tim Herbert, chief research officer, CompTIA. “Across industry sectors, metro areas and company sizes harnessing tech talent remains a top priority.”

Active employer job postings for new hiring totaled more than 475,000 in November, down about 42,000 from October.³ Companies added nearly 184,000 new tech job postings last month, with employers in consulting, finance, manufacturing and technology hardware, software and services among the most active.

Artificial intelligence (AI) hiring momentum continues to build. In the aggregate employers recorded nearly 331,000 active job postings throughout 2024 in recruiting for AI job roles and AI skills, a year-over-year increase of 71%.

Across all tech occupations 44% of November postings did not specify a four-year degree requirement for applicants. Some occupations had notably higher percentages, including network support specialists (84%) and tech support specialists (71%).

The data indicates hiring for work from home (WFH) positions is holding steady at about 20% of total tech job recruiting. On a hiring activity volume basis, the top WFH positions include software developers, IT project managers, data scientists and analysts, tech support specialists, and systems analysts.

The “CompTIA Tech Jobs Report” is available at https://www.comptia.org/content/tech-jobs-report.

Snappy’s 2024 Holiday Gifting Report reveals that holiday gifting has the potential to play a crucial role in building customer loyalty. According to the report, 65% of customer loyalty program members expressed a desire to receive holiday gifts from the brands they support, underscoring the growing importance of holiday gifting as a key driver of ongoing customer engagement and brand loyalty.

The Holiday Gifting Report also found that more than half of all respondents (52%) believe receiving a holiday gift from a brand significantly increases their loyalty, with an additional 38% reporting a somewhat increased sense of loyalty. Together, these findings indicate that 90% of loyalty program members feel more positively about a brand when they receive a holiday gift, suggesting that gifting is an important strategy for brands seeking to deepen connections with their customers.

More Key Findings From The Holiday Gifting Report:

• 57% of consumers are members of at least one customer loyalty program, with the majority participating in multiple programs. Of these, 50% are members of 3-5 loyalty programs, highlighting the competitive nature of maintaining brand loyalty.

• Despite their participation in membership programs, only 42% of loyalty members have ever received a holiday gift from a brand, indicating a missed opportunity for brands to engage with and recognize their most loyal customers.

Holiday Gifting as a Strategic Opportunity

Holiday gifting allows brands to differentiate themselves in an increasingly crowded loyalty landscape. As the survey results suggest, companies that integrate strategic holiday gifting into their customer loyalty strategy can build stronger relationships, enhance retention, boost customer lifetime value, and create brand advocates.

This year’s holiday spending is expected to push the nation’s $1.17 trillion in household credit card debt even higher—and with rising debt, cardholders are increasingly at risk of falling behind on their payments.

A new analysis from Upgraded Points sheds light on credit card delinquency rates in the U.S., broken down by metro and state. Researchers ranked locations by the share of cardholders with severely delinquent debt as of Q4 2023, the latest data available.

Credit Card Delinquency in Georgia

• Last year, 16.5% of cardholders in Georgia had severely delinquent debt (90+ days overdue), the 3rd highest delinquency rate in the nation.

• The average credit card debt in Georgia was $6,757.

• Additionally, 33.3% of Georgia cardholders utilized more than 75% of their total credit, which can hurt credit scores and make it more difficult to secure loans or favorable interest rates in the future.

Access to credit is an important resource for managing personal finances, whether to pay for major purchases, serve as a bridge to cover regular expenses, or smooth out spending when something unexpected happens. But reliance on debt like credit cards can also mean racking up large balances that are hard to pay off.

In this tumultuous economy, rising financial pressures have caused more individuals to struggle with credit card payments, leading to higher delinquency rates and worsening financial strain. This analysis examines how credit card delinquency rates vary across the U.S., highlighting the regions and demographics most affected by financial instability.

For the full report visit upgradedpoints.com