Jobs (ADP and the Fed), Confidence, GO-Biz & Tax Credits, Another Comic Book and CES
The Numbers – we are caught up with government reporting, with the last of the October numbers published this last week related to housing and, along with many other things, that was also an average report.
The biggest headlines were about jobs.
The ADP report showed 41,000 private sector jobs added.
This was a rebound from the November decline of 29,000.
The most impacted sectors: Production jobs lost 3,000 while Education & Health Services added 39,000, and Leisure & Hospitality added 24,000.
Job stayers saw their pay increase 4.4% and job hoppers saw it increase 6.6%.
If you had the nerve to leave your job, it paid off.
Job openings fell from 7,500,000 to 7,100,000. Slowly dropping.
2,100,000 are claiming unemployment.
7,500,000 are unemployed, meaning that they are available to work, but cannot find work.
Initial jobless claims came in at 208,000; that was fairly static, against last month’s 200,000.
The economy added 50,000 jobs – no excitement there, but at least it didn’t lose any.
And unemployment fell from 4.5% to 4.4%.
Manufacturing employment logged the eighth straight monthly decline.
It’s tough to bring those jobs back.
The next biggest news was the consumer confidence report.
Confidence was up. It came in at 54, up from 52.9 and the expectation of 53.4.
It was 71.7 a year ago.
Economically, it all seems to be muddling along. Not good, not bad. Just meh.
But the stock market is having a good start.
The Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development, aka GO-Biz (as in go take your Biziness to another state), has another window open for the California Competes Tax Credit.
BTW, that is a real office for the state of California.
GoBiz is accepting applications from companies for the California Competes Tax Credit (CCTC).
There are $308 million in tax credits available during this application period for businesses that are expanding and adding quality, full-time jobs in California that might not otherwise be created by the business or any other business.
The deadline to submit applications is Monday, January 26, 2026.
The last round had 9 businesses get $99,000,000 in tax credits, with one business, Hadrian Automation, Inc., out of Torrance, getting $48,750,000 with a commitment to invest 52,000,000 and add 650 jobs.
Sounds like that could be a prospect for a lot of folks on the Russell Report distribution list. They also have 97 open positions – good ones, too.
Some caveats:
It’s NOT a slam dunk.
The state does look for accountability from the businesses accepting the tax credits:
Did you hire the people you said you were going to?
Did you invest the amount you committed to?
Did you contribute to the reelection campaign of politicians? Just kidding. Or, am I...
The state may, and does, claw back the tax credit.
Which is really weird, considering that there is no accountability for virtually any other program the state has. Just sayin’.
Did I say it’s NOT a slam dunk?
The online application can be accessed at www.calcompetes.ca.gov.
It’s 2026 in California, so…
…the California minimum wage increases to $16.90 per hour.
Unless you are a fast-food worker at $20/hour.
Or work in West Hollywood at $20.25/hour.
Or you can work in a hotel, and if you are still employed when the Olympics open up in 2028, you can make $30/hour.
Another Comic Book
Remember a couple of months ago I talked about the first issue of Superman? That sold for $9,120,000.
Well, someone found another one and that just sold for $15,000,000.
The increased price might be due to the history of this issue; it was owned at one point by Nicholas Cage and stolen out of his home.
It was recovered, but then he sold it in 2011 for $2,200,000.
Collectible snobs refer to all of that as the provenance of the item.
Keep looking in those attics, folks.
CES Last Week
This is what was introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week:
Switchbot, a $10,000 robot, can pick up clothes, put them in the washing machine, then the dryer, and fold them when done. Which is an improvement over your average teenager. But is it worth $10,000?
Oh, and it will also rinse dishes and put them in the dishwasher.
Just wait, in about 10 years, it’ll cost about $1,995 and clean your whole house.
IKEA presented smart home devices. I was thinking that meant furniture that assembles itself, but no, that wasn’t it. It is room accessories controlled with a Matter Hub, either Ikea’s or Amazon Echo, Google Nest or Apple HomePod.
I didn’t know it was called a Matter Hub.
Some assembly required.
Lego has a Smart Brick, Smart Tags and Smart Minifigurines.
Basically, the LEGO brick has a tiny chip that enables things like motion, color, and proximity sensing. Figures come to life – so to speak – and interact with the user.
Sounds like a precursor to Small Soldiers to me.
Over 148,000 people attended, which is why the Holiday Inn Express was $377/night.
Or is that just Vegas now?
This week’s quote:
“I hated every minute of training, but I said ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’”
Mohammed Ali
50 full weeks to go. By now, you should be running to meet your targets, because everyone else is. But as you are running, don’t forget to train. Learn about your product, quiz your customers about what they like and what they don’t. If you are honest with them, they will be honest with you, and you will learn new things. Then, they will tell their friends, vendors, and customers about this company that really seems to care.
Then, you won’t have to run to meet your targets. They’ll be coming to you.
