Arizona’s status as a top-choice travel destination was reaffirmed again last year, as the state’s recovery of both visitor spending and overnight stays outpaced the national average, according to new research released in July by the Arizona Office of Tourism (AOT). In calendar year 2021, overnight visitors spent $23.6 billion across Arizona, which is 92% of the all-time … [More]

Thanks to technology that has made us reachable whenever, wherever, many peoples’ jobs have morphed into round-the-clock activities, and remote working has made it even more difficult to unplug. Phones are set to mirror work-related email and calendar notifications (even after hours). But this continual hustle can result in chronic workplace stress, leading to debilitating … [More]

Nationwide, 44.3% of home offers written by Redfin agents faced competition on a seasonally adjusted basis in July, compared with a revised rate of 50.9% one month earlier and 63.8% one year earlier, according to a new report from Redfin, the technology-powered real estate brokerage. That’s the sixth-straight monthly decline and the lowest share on record with the exception of … [More]

The share of homebuyers looking to relocate jumped in July as high mortgage rates and home prices motivated Americans to move to more affordable areas, according to a new report from Redfin, the technology-powered real estate brokerage. After many months as one of the three most popular destinations, Phoenix fell to number 6 in July, with a sizable decline in … [More]

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) was unchanged in July on a seasonally adjusted basis after rising 1.3 percent in June, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 8.5 percent before seasonal adjustment. The gasoline index fell 7.7 percent in July and offset increases in the food and … [More]

NFIB’s Small Business Optimism Index rose 0.4 points in July to 89.9, however, it is the sixth consecutive month below the 48-year average of 98. Thirty-seven percent of small business owners reported that inflation was their single most important problem in operating their business, an increase of three points from June and the highest level since the fourth quarter of … [More]

Small businesses across the country continue to raise wages to keep employees and fill a historically high level of open positions, according to NFIB’s monthly jobs report. Seasonally adjusted, 49% of all owners reported job openings they could not fill in the current period, down one point from June and down two points from May’s 48-year record high. “Hiring … [More]

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 528,000 in July, and the unemployment rate edged down to 3.5 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job growth was widespread, led by gains in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, and health care. Both total nonfarm employment and the unemployment rate have returned to their February 2020 … [More]

Hiring at U.S. small businesses slowed for the fifth consecutive month, according to the latest Paychex | IHS Markit Small Business Employment Watch. The Small Business Jobs Index moderated -0.66 percent from the previous month and stands at 100.14. The pace of wage increases slowed slightly from the previous month, with average hourly earnings growth at 5.08 percent compared … [More]

CoreLogic, a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider, today released the CoreLogic Home Price Index (HPI™) and HPI Forecast™ for June 2022. Nationwide, home prices grew by 18.3% from June 2021, marking the 125th consecutive month of year-over-year increases. Though annual appreciation was still strong, it slowed from the … [More]