The number of job openings in Texas for “Innovation Type Jobs” increased from 12,335 in May 2014 to 12,612 in June 2014, while the searcher-to-job opening ratio increased from 0.68 to 1.02 in the same span.
Image source: http://www.americas.gecapital.com/insight-and-ideas/capital-perspectives/innovation-secrets-of-steve-jobs
The consumer price index (CPI) went up from 37.083 in May 2014 to 237.693 in June 2014, an annualized rate of 3.09%.
The price index for medical care commodities went up at an annualized rate of 8.36% from May 2014 to June 2014. During the same period, the price index for medical care services and professional services went down at an annualized rate of 0.16% and 1.31%, respectively, whereas hospital and related services went up at 2.06%.
Image source: http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-54762670/stock-photo-background-concept-illustration-consumer-price-index.html
The oil and gas extraction industry in Texas gained 2,500 jobs from April 2014 to May 2014. Compared to May 2013, the cumulative number of jobs added in this industry is 9,700, an increase of 9.4%.
Image Source: http://www.eliteexploration.com/texas-oil-gas-companies/
The New York Times reports that Suncor, a leading Canadian oil sands producer, will increase production in 2014. The company anticipates using rail instead of pipeline to move oil to its refineries.
The Suncor website provides a detailed description of the oil sands process.
From their website:
Near Fort McMurray, Alta., Suncor recovers bitumen from oil sands through its mining and in situ operations. The bitumen from both operations is then upgraded to refinery-ready feedstock and diesel fuel.
The in situ process uses horizontal wells to reach the oil sands ore. The top well injects steam to heat the reservoir, allowing the bitumen to flow to the lower well where it is collected and piped to upgrading facilities. Graphic:
In 2011 (the latest available year), the U.S. BEA reports that the total value of goods and services produced in the Oil and Gas industry was $30.68 Billion and approximately 170,000 people worked in the industry. The value of the goods and services produced in the Oil and Gas industry more than doubled, even after accounting for inflation since 1998.
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Adminstration
U.S. Department of Commerce reports manufacturing wages and employment continues to rise the U.S. The new study uses a relatively new data source, the Quarterly Workforce Indicators (QWI), to analyze the earnings of new hires relative to incumbent workers in both manufacturing and non-manufacturing.
They find that new hires in the manufacturing sector earn more than new hires in other industries and have done particularly well since the recession began.
Highlight from the study include:
From the U.S. BEA:
Manufacturing real value added—a measure of an industry’s contribution to GDP—rose 6.2 percent in 2012, after increasing 2.5 percent in 2011. Durable-goods manufacturing, the largest contributor to overall growth in the economy for the third consecutive year, increased 9.1 percent, after increasing 6.8 percent in 2011 and 13.3 percent in 2010.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/industry/gdpindustry/2013/gdpind12_adv.htm
Bonuses for large loans are a current trend in payday loan lending circles. As discussed in this blog, larger payday loans have a lower default rate. Offering a bonus for larger loans is equivalent to offering a lower interest rate.
Harley-Davidson Co. said it expects to ship 259,000 to 264,000 motorcycles to dealers and distributors worldwide in 2013….In the U.S., dealers sold 48,529 new motorcycles in the quarter, up 20.1 percent compared to sales of 40,402 motorcycles in the year-ago period.
Revenue from motorcycles grew 10.7 percent to $857 million, compared to revenue of $774 million in the year-ago period….
