The March employment report showed a deceleration in job creation, but the unemployment rate fell to the lowest level for the pandemic. Labor force participation grew again to the highest level for the pandemic. Consistent with a strong labor market, continuing claims have fallen and are now at a 52-year low. Wage growth remains strong. … Continued
With the first quarter ending, we are looking back at the 10 trends that the Cox Automotive Industry Insights team laid out in the early days of 2022 that are shaping the auto industry this year. Overall, the Cox Automotive team remains optimistic about the industry. The overall conditions are right for higher sales, but … Continued
The video below is part of a biweekly Auto Market Report series focusing on data and insights that provide a holistic view of the auto industry. Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke leads our effort to translate data and trends into actionable insights. Download this week’s presentation.
A replay of the Cox Automotive Q1 2022 U.S. Auto Sales Forecast and Industry Insights webcast held on Monday, March 28, is available below. Cox Automotive Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke, Senior Economist Charlie Chesbrough, and the Industry Insights team presented data and insights to help quantify how the industry performed, reviewed the Cox Automotive first-quarter … Continued
Last week was a light week for new economic data. This week delivers a veritable buffet of updated data covering personal income, spending, and inflation data for February, and employment, consumer confidence, and new-vehicle sales data for March. The housing market saw declining momentum in February, as surging mortgage rates are having an impact on … Continued
COVID-19 cases are now down 96% from the peak in mid-January, but the war in Ukraine and accelerating inflation have weighed on consumer sentiment in March. Still, the consumer kept spending at retailers in February, but inflation is what drove spending higher for the month. The job market continues to be one of the strongest … Continued
The Fed followed through with its widely telegraphed plan to start raising the target rate for the Federal Funds Rate. The target was increased by a quarter of a point, as expected, but the Fed indicated that six more quarter-point rate increases will likely follow before year-end, and that was more than expected. Rate projections … Continued
The video below is part of a biweekly Auto Market Report series focusing on data and insights that provide a holistic view of the auto industry. Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke leads our effort to translate data and trends into actionable insights. Download this week’s presentation.
COVID-19 cases continue to fall and are back to July levels. Even with cases down, consumer sentiment, according to the University of Michigan, declined again in the initial March reading as consumers are impacted by rising gas prices and unsettled by the conflict in Ukraine. Inflation picked up again in February to record the highest … Continued
The February employment report was stronger than expected as job creation accelerated to 678,000 jobs compared to 481,000 created in January, and prior months were revised up. Labor force participation grew to the highest level for the pandemic, and the unemployment rate fell to the lowest level for the pandemic. Jobless claims are falling, and … Continued
