Ambassador of the Month Archive

How Remote Work Helped Tech Companies Outside Silicon Valley Grow

Sunday, April 24, 2022

(The New York Times) Photo by Audra Melton for The New York Times: Craig Fuller, founder of FreightWaves at his home office in Chattanooga, Tenn. His business improved when the company shifted to a virtual office, he said, and he hasn’t had trouble filling jobs. Some companies that hired remote workers during the pandemic say going back to the office isn’t an option. More than two years after the pandemic sent workers packing and hunkering down in their home offices, many companies are now doing everything they can to lure employees back in office buildings — at least for a few days a week. Bu...

Orange County Unemployment Rate Falls to 3.1% in March

Friday, April 15, 2022

(Orange County Business Journal) Orange County’s unemployment rate fell to 3.1% in March from a revised 3.7% in February and below the 7% rate seen in March last year, according to the state’s Employment Development Department. The state’s unemployment rate was 4.2%. The March U.S. unemployment rate was 3.8%. Nonfarm OC employment gained 9,800 jobs from February to March when 1.63 million were employed. OC employment is up 91,700 jobs from the same period a year ago. The county remains below the February 2020 pre-pandemic employment level of 1.68 million jobs. Eight of the 11 industry sectors saw job increases. For the second straight month, leadin...

Rivian Foresees Success Despite Hurdles

Wednesday, April 13, 2022

(Orange County Business Journal) Rivian Automotive Inc. in Irvine believes it can compete effectively in the increasingly crowded electric vehicle market, but notes multiple near-term difficulties it faces, ranging from the Russian attack on Ukraine to global supply chain disruptions. In its first annual report as a publicly-traded company, filed on March 31, Rivian provided an in-depth look at the future. Rivian delivered 920 vehicles last year and is ramping up for a large increase. Among the company’s bright spots: $18.4 billion in cash and equivalents as of Dec. 31—probably the biggest such bank account of any Orange County public company. Much o...

Strong U.S. Jobs Report Shows Hiring Momentum

Friday, April 01, 2022

(The Wall Street Journal) The U.S. labor market strengthened last month as the pandemic’s grip receded and more workers jumped back into the labor force. Employers added 431,000 jobs in March, as restaurants, manufacturers, and retailers snatched up workers, and hiring in January and February was stronger than previously reported, the Labor Department said Friday. The report marked the 11th straight month of job gains above 400,000, the longest such stretch of growth in records dating back to 1939. The unemployment rate fell to 3.6% in March from 3.8% a month earlier, quickly approaching the February 2020 pre-pandemic rate of 3.5%, a 50-yea...

Wage Gains Show Signs of Slowing

Friday, April 01, 2022

(The Wall Street Journal) Wages continued to grow in March, but the pace has cooled slightly over the past few months, suggesting employers are feeling less pressure to offer pay increases as more people return to the workforce, which could ease inflation pressures. Average hourly earnings were up a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in March over the previous month, following February’s relatively weak 0.1% rise, the Labor Department said on April 1. In the previous six months, by contrast, monthly wage gains averaged 0.5%. Economists say the past two months of softer wage growth could signal that the labor market is starting to coo...

Layoffs for Irvine Developer FivePoint

Friday, March 25, 2022

(Orange County Business Journal) Irvine’s Five Point Holdings LLC, the developer of the Great Park Neighborhoods and other large communities in California, has announced a round of layoffs. “We announced a layoff of 31 FivePoint associates, which represents approximately 20% of our workforce,” the company said in a statement. “We are proud that we were able to keep the team together through the pandemic, however, we feel that now is the appropriate time to reassess our operations and cost structure to properly fit the size and scale of our business,” the statement said. The moves come a few weeks after the developer’s new Chie...

John Wayne Airport Making Strong Recovery with Good Passenger Numbers

Wednesday, March 16, 2022

(Orange County Register) Two years after the rapidly spreading coronavirus halted most air travel, traffic at John Wayne Airport and across the industry is rebounding “more quickly than expected,” with last week’s passenger volume almost 2% higher than the same period in 2019, Rick Francis, the airport’s interim director, said on March 15. Even with the slower recovery of business travel, the number of people flying nationally is around 80% to 85% of what it was in 2019, which is used as a pre-pandemic benchmark, Francis said after a press conference about airport programs. JWA saw more than 10.6 million travelers in eac...

U.S. Trade Deficit in Goods Surges Again to a Record $107.6 Billion in Early 2022

Monday, February 28, 2022

(Market Watch) The numbers: The U.S. trade deficit jumped 7.1% in January to $107.6 billion and hit a new all-time high for the second month in a row, reflecting huge American appetite for imported goods such as autos and oil. The deficit rose from a revised $100.5 billion in December. Last year, the U.S. posted the highest trade deficit ever. The goods deficit topped $1 trillion for the very first time. Key details: U.S. goods imports rose 1.8% in January to $262 billion — also a record. Exports of U.S.-made goods slid 1.8% to $154.8 billion. Part of the unusually sharp increase in the deficit i...

Another 2021 First: Top 10 U.S. Trade Partners Top $100 Billion

Friday, February 25, 2022

(Forbes) For the first time ever, the top 10 U.S. trade partners all topped $100 billion in export-import trade in 2021, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released in February. The previous record was seven, first set in 2011 and tied every year thereafter. Until last year. It was one of many new milestones set in a year filled with them, despite record tariffs and massive snarls in the supply chain symbolized by websites with items out of stock, barren shelves at the store, and ships stranded off the coasts of Los Angeles, Savannah and elsewhere, waiting to dock. The United States set ...

Economy Gained Momentum in February Despite Inflation Worries

Tuesday, February 22, 2022

(The Wall Street Journal) U.S. economic growth picked up this month but inflation pressures increased as the Omicron wave of Covid-19 ebbed and Americans resumed dining out and traveling, according to surveys of purchasing managers. Private data firm IHS Markit said on Feb.22 that its composite Purchasing Managers Index for the U.S. rose to a two-month high of 56.0 in February from 51.1 in January. A reading above 50 indicates growth, while a level below 50 signals contraction. Price pressures intensified this month, according to the firm and other reports released Tuesday. Worries about inflation hurt U.S. consumer sentiment in February, according to ...

Americans Want to Travel and Are Eager to Splurge, Companies Say

Friday, February 18, 2022

(The Wall Street Journal) More Americans are satisfying their wanderlust and spending big to do it, companies say. With daily new Covid-19 cases falling, restrictions easing and the strongest consumer finances in recent history, Americans are finally emerging from the pandemic eager to splurge on everything from travel and sports events to restaurants, cruises, and theme parks, executives say. Companies including Marriott International Inc., Expedia Group Inc., Coca-Cola Co., and MGM Resorts International told analysts recently that business is already improving from an Omicron dip and indications point to an American public eager to live large. “Premium customers, who after being cooped up for 2020 and the first part of 2021, are traveling an...

Strong Jobs Report Shows Resilience of Economic Recovery

Friday, February 04, 2022

(Market Watch) The U.S. added a robust 467,000 jobs in January and hiring was much stronger at the end of 2021 than originally reported, indicating businesses did a better job of recruiting workers to fill record openings even as omicron blitzed the economy. The unemployment rate rose to 4% from 3.9%, the government said on Feb. 4. Economists polled by Wall Street had forecast 150,000 new jobs, but many investors were bracing for the first contraction in employment since December 2020 because so many workers got sick from omicron last month. A record 7.8 million people said they missed time from work last month du...

U.S. Job Openings, Quits Remained Elevated at End of Last Year

Thursday, February 03, 2022

(The Wall Street Journal) The U.S. labor market remained tight at the end of last year with job openings and worker turnover hovering near the highest levels on record, though there are signs demand cooled as the Omicron variant disrupted the economy in January. The Labor Department said there were 10.9 million job openings in December, up slightly from 10.8 million the previous month. Meanwhile, the number of times workers quit fell to 4.3 million in December, from a record 4.5 million. Hiring slowed to 6.3 million, down from 6.6 million. Separate private-sector data for January showed that employers pulled back on demand fo...

Microsoft to Buy Activision Blizzard in All-Cash Deal Valued at $75 Billion

Wednesday, January 19, 2022

(The Wall Street Journal) Microsoft Corp. agreed to buy Irvine-based Activision Blizzard Inc. in an all-cash deal valued at about $75 billion, using its largest acquisition by far to grab a videogame heavyweight that has been roiled by claims of workplace misconduct. Blizzard Entertainment is headquartered in Irvine. The deal, if completed, would sharply expand Microsoft’s already sizable videogame operation, adding a stable of popular game franchises including Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Candy Crush to Microsoft’s Xbox console business and its own games like Minecraft and Doom. Microsoft said the transaction would make it the world’s third-largest gaming company b...

Ambassador of the Month Archive

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