January 2024
Banner year of job growth signals a US economy on the mend
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the US economy added 216,000 jobs in December. “The monthly total blew past expectations for a net gain of 160,000 jobs and capped off what’s been a year of resilience in the labor market.”
“ ‘We’ve lived through something quite unprecedented, which is such a large increase in interest rates and such a sharp drop in inflation without a meaningful increase in unemployment,’ Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter, told CNN Business in an interview. ‘It’s never happened before.’ ”
And Fed Chair Jerome Powell “has long cautioned that the labor market needs to cool from its breakneck pace and have a better alignment in the number of jobs available and the number of people hoping to take them. Last month, he acknowledged that the US jobs market had come into ‘better balance.’ “
Read the entire article from CNN Business:
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Help children get a good night’s sleep
The Furniture Bank of Metro Atlanta needs help. Families with children are often moving into small spaces and there is great need for twin sized bedding. However, twin mattresses are the least donated size, often leaving the Furniture Bank to purchase new ones.
They need our help. Please consider donating twin mattresses or making a donation to help the Furniture Bank purchase beds so that children can have a soft, warm place to lay their heads at night.
Learn more about how to help The Furniture Bank help children:
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Be the first to know about 2024 food trends!
The rapid rise of social media knowledge-sharing has given the foodies at BH&G a full feast of information of trends in food and eating for 2024. Their team of experts have “devoured early trend forecasts” to bring us the top food trends for the new year.
PHOTO courtesy of DAMIRCUDIC/GETTY IMAGES
2024 Food Trends You’re About to See Everywhere
A rise in dining solo
In 2024 “proudly ask[ing] for a table for one” will become more commonplace, and the experts say that they “expect to see more restaurants designed to comfortably accommodate solo diners.”
Newstalgia
Food companies will be reforming food brands from the past in order to bring them to the public in a fresh, new way, noting that “it’s highly likely that food and drink will follow fashion trends in finding inspiration from the past.”
PHOTO: CARSON DOWNING
Healthspan-Supporting Foods and Drinks:
Wellness experts will be focusing on foods that support the public’s “healthspan.” Unlike lifespan, which is all about the quantity of years we have, healthspan also involves the quality of those years; it’s the quantity of healthy, productive, rich years we can live.”
Head to BH&G for lots more trends in food and eating in 2024:
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Local real estate stats for December
Data from MLS and compiled by Chart Master Services, LLC
If you would like to chat about what this recent data means for your individual real estate needs, we are available any time, by phone, text, email, or in person- let us buy you a cup of coffee!