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Economic Outlook: Archive

John Blank

Trends in U.S. Work-from-Home Data

The stabilized U.S. Work from Home Rate of 24.9% represents a new, permanent structural change in the U.S. economy, rather than a full reversion to pre-COVID norms.

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John Blank

The Worst Parts of U.S. 2025 Joblessness

While the headline U.S. unemployment rate remains low, these underlying trends signal a weakening U.S. economy, and increasing struggles for many U.S. job seekers.

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John Blank

AI's Impact Emerges: A 5.5% California Unemployment Rate

The U.S. household unemployment rate is rising in 2025 due to a combination of factors, including a slowdown in job growth and increased labor force participation, with the August 2025 rate ticking up to 4.3%.

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John Blank

Hyman Minsky's Concept

Many economists and policymakers have found Minsky's framework highly insightful for understanding how the housing and credit bubbles developed and ultimately burst.

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John Blank

Hunting for Excesses (with AI's Help)

Want to endure my stock strategist/economist "wall of worries"? That 23.1 P/E share valuation ratio for the S&P500 is above the 5-year post-COVID average (19.9) and well above a longer current business cycle 10-year average (18.4).

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John Blank

A Fresh Look at Indeed Job Postings

On June 2nd, 2025, the U.S. online job posting level has steadily been falling back to just +2% to +4% above the pre-pandemic Feb. 1st, 2020 level.

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John Blank

Is a U.S. Real Estate Collapse in the Cards?

If a professional economist wants to look deeply for the source of a major U.S. recession, history shows that it can often be found in real estate price collapses.

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John Blank

Sizing Up 2025 U.S. Inflation

It's time to review the U.S. Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) landscape. In this piece, I explore six U.S. inflation measures, using percent change from a year ago.

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John Blank

Making Sense of Trade Wars

U.S. trade with Mexico, Canada, and China in 2024 accounted for around 40% of America's total commerce in goods around the world.

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John Blank

FEB 2025 Update: On U.S. Job Openings and Job Postings

In this piece, Zacks Chief Strategist John Blank will pull together the St. Louis Fed's (FRED) set of Job Opening and Job Posting indicators for your review.

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