Americans are preparing for a worsening economy — and other happenings in the world of work

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Catch up on headlines from the last 7 days.

• Unemployed Americans are finding jobs faster than ever, according to new Labor Department data. In July, the average unemployed worker went without work for 8.5 weeks, down from 14.4 weeks a year earlier, meaning jobseekers are still in the driver’s seat.
• Consumer prices kept climbing at the fastest pace in 40 years in July while spending rose a meager 0.2%, pointing to Americans feeling limited purchasing power. Retailers from big box to department stores all expect sales growth to slow down as Americans pull back on spending and search for lower-priced alternatives.
• The Fed plans to keep hiking interest rates “until the job is done,” Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Friday. He conceded that tightening could hurt the strong job market but said faster inflation could have worse consequences.
• Home prices took a tumble for the first time in three years as spiking mortgage rates and mounting economic worries curb buyer demand. Historically, prices go up in the summer since families tend to move when school isn’t in session. Markets that saw the biggest price cuts include pandemic boomtowns Boise and Denver.
• The pandemic shaved three years off the life expectancy of the average New? Yorker, a bigger decline than anywhere else in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The states with the lowest life expectancies are concentrated in the South and the highest are in the West and Northeast.
• Americans earning under $125,000 will see $10,000 of their student loan debt forgiven, the Biden administration announced last week. The student loan payment moratorium was also extended until the end of the year. The relief package is expected to face legal challenges.

Take a closer look at recent trending topics — and engage with meaningful conversations happening on LinkedIn.

Are Americans preparing for a worsening economy?

• The U.S. economy shrank for two straight quarters — and while many economists aren’t ready to sound the recession alarm bell, that doesn’t mean Americans aren’t fearing it or feeling it. Even most CEOs are preparing for a recession, even if they expect it to be brief and shallow.
• Most Americans (69%) are worried about the possibility of a recession before the end of next year, according to a new Bankrate survey. Some 41% of Americans reported feeling unprepared to handle an economic downturn but, on a more positive note, a whopping 74% said they’re actively taking steps to prepare.
• The most common step Americans are taking in anticipation of a worsening economy is spending less on discretionary purchases (47%). They are also saving more for emergencies (35%), paying down credit cards (30%), searching for stable income (24%) and even saving more for retirement (19%).?
• Of those possible steps, Sarah Foster, Bankrate’s economy reporter recommended focusing on growing your emergency fund. “Think about your emergency fund as the crucial income stream during a spell of unemployment that can help you keep a roof over your head and food on the table,” she said. “Not saving raises the risk that we’ll still be recovering from the recession long after it ends,” she continued. Financial advisor Suze Orman agreed that making emergency savings your priority is “the biggest favor you will do for yourself,” even without the threat of a worsening economy.

Why is employee engagement falling?

• Workers, for the most part, are checked out. According to a recent Gallup survey, just a third of workers reported feeling engaged on the job. That’s lower than 2020. The “rise and grind” mentality is falling off as workers report feeling disrespected on the job and struggling with pandemic-related burnout.?
• Gen Z and millennial workers are leading the shift, with many embracing “quiet quitting,” the trend where many are opting out of going above and beyond at work in favor of better work-life balance. Or does it mean getting away with the bare minimum while collecting a paycheck? Whatever the phrase means to you, it’s clear that hustle culture is facing a reckoning.
• “The lack of honest dialogue up and down the leadership chain is a more significant issue than workers just doing their jobs,” marketing professional John Kunzier commented on the trend. “Shifting priorities, unrealistic timelines, ridiculous budgets, constantly rotating managers” and more contribute to falling employee engagement, he said. “If your employees are pushing back, maybe your [company] culture” needs evaluating. Executive coach Marjan Najafi recommended that if business leaders want to attract and retain employees who won’t just half-heartedly clock in and out, they need to think beyond high pay. “How about creating an inspiring workplace for employees, offering personal development and ensuring growth opportunities?” she questioned. She also pointed out that companies with engaged workers enjoy higher profits.

Do women and men think about pay differently?

• About 47% of women feel well-compensated for their work, while 52% of men feel the same, according to the latest edition of LinkedIn’s Workforce Confidence Index. It’s just one of the many ways pay-related attitudes differ between men and women. When it comes to pay transparency, women (53%) are more likely than men (42%) to say that it will increase pay equality.
• “Pay decisions are not random,” Anca Puiu, a compensation manager at a shipping company, commented. “Unless we do a better job of educating the workforce, they may appear so,” she continued, advocating for business leaders to “step out of their bubbles and add context to the numbers.” That kind of openness lets leaders find and address gender disparities “that are usually the result of biased systems that were built by and for a homogenous workforce from 70 years ago,” she concluded.
• Libby Romfh, a project management professional, agreed. “Pay transparency may also help with imposter syndrome,” she said, positing that women who see “exactly how much less they are making” might “stop feeling that they’re taking up space.” A separate recent survey from the New York Fed found that even the expected pay gap is widening. This year, base pay expectations for men climbed to $86,259 and while expectations for women slipped to $59,543.?

Get ready for the week by seeing what's coming up.

• Tuesday, August 30: The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the Job Openings and Labor Turnover survey for July, which measures job vacancies across industries.
• Wednesday, August 31: LinkedIn Senior Editor at Large George Anders will release his latest edition of Workforce Insights, digging into labor trends in the aviation industry.
• Thursday, September 1: The Labor Department will release initial jobless claims for the previous week. The report, a proxy for layoffs, tracks the number of people filing for unemployment benefits.
• Friday, September 2: The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the August jobs report. The monthly release tracks the unemployment rate and how many jobs were added to the economy.