Are labor market conditions returning to some semblance of normalcy?
In the aftermath of the pandemic, the Great Resignation resulted in a labor shortage and new employment opportunities with greater pay and better benefits for job seekers.
As a historically hot labor market cools, however, U.S. wage growth is slowing and pay increases for new recruits in certain industries have plummeted from levels a year ago, according to Gusto, a payroll processor for small businesses.
Housing, finance, and technology, which have struggled as a result of the Federal Reserve’s sharp interest rate increases over the past year, bear the brunt of the decline.
However, it is also beginning to spread to other industries, such as manufacturing, as more Americans who quit the labor force during the height of the pandemic return because their COVID-related savings are dwindling and their health risks are diminishing.
Frames of beds and Swedish meatballs
Oh, are you interested in purchasing flat-pack, self-assembly furniture?
You are fortunate.
IKEA is expanding in the United States.
On Thursday, the ready-to-assemble furniture company announced plans to open eight new stores in the United States, in addition to nine plan and order points and 900 pick-up locations for online orders.
According to Javier Quinones, IKEA U.S.’s CEO and chief sustainability officer, the company has not yet determined the locations for the new stores, but it plans to launch in cities where it already has a presence as well as new markets.
The $2.2 billion investment over the next three years should make IKEA’s products more accessible to a greater number of Americans via digital and physical storefronts.
IKEA currently operates 50 stores across the United States.
