Prolonged inflation, fears of recession, mass layoffs, slowdowns in private equity investments, and other anxiety-provoking economic and market-related headlines all made for a rocky 2023. However, as this Forbes article (and our recent economic commentary) points out, after years of fears over a looming recession, the economy ended 2023 above expectations as the unemployment rate hit 3.7% in November, the Federal Reserve is eyeing interest rate cuts in 2024 and inflation dropped to 3.1%, down from a peak of 9.1% in July 2022.
Regarding labor – the data shows that after months of layoffs, employers have redefined the right size of their workforce and are looking ahead to slower, steadier growth, and workers seem to be staying put after years of job hopping. Among employers, “there’s a general optimism toward 2024,” says Dawn Fay, an operational president at Robert Half. “There’s this ambition to rightsize, normalize, and get back on track.”
The article goes on to consider these three labor trends expected in the year ahead and what they mean for workers:
- Wages and raises will continue to slow and return to pre-pandemic norms
- Hiring will slow further, but companies still have plans to add people in 2024, and
- Layoffs can be unpredictable, but economists expect them to remain low in 2024
For the full article written by Emmy Lucas of Forbes click here.
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