Thanksgiving Edition. Jobs, jobs, survey results, the cost of Thanksgiving, Talking Points, and Giving Thanks.
The fog is starting to lift…
And it looks like rates may not be reduced in December. OK, there is a 40% chance that the Fed will lower rates. Or 20%, depending on which group of economists is talking.
The jobs report came in stronger than expected: 119,000 new jobs. Last month it was 22,000, and 50,000 was predicted. That’s good news overall, but not if you are looking for interest rates to go down.
The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.4% from 4.3% last month.
One of the drivers was the addition of 470,000 people to the labor force.
Healthcare and Social Assistance added 57,100 jobs, Leisure & Hospitality 47,000; government 22,000 and construction 19,000.
Losing jobs were Transportation & Warehousing 25,300; Professional & Business 20,000 and Manufacturing at 6,000.
Jobless claims came in at 220,000. No alarm bells there. That’s pretty much where it has been since 2022 and a number of years pre-COVID.
The Fed’s focus is on jobs; it thinks inflation at 3.0% is not an issue as the spike is primarily one-time due to tariffs. If the Fed thinks that jobs are showing signs of weakening, it will drop the Fed Funds rate a notch. It’s a wait and see at this point.
BTW, on the survey last week “Do you think you will be worse off, better off or the same six months from now?”, there were 25 respondents as follows: 15 Same, 8 Better, and 2 Worse.
The Cost of Thanksgiving
The American Farm Bureau Federation estimated that the cost of a classic Thanksgiving dinner for this year is $55.18. That is down from $58.08 last year and $61.17 the year before.
On the west coast, the cost is $61.75.
In the south, the cost is $50.01.
The Farm Bureau sends volunteer shoppers to markets in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. What do they shop for?
Turkey (frozen), cubed stuffing, sweet potatoes, dinner rolls, frozen peas, fresh cranberries, celery, carrots, pumpkin pie mix and crusts, whipping cream and whole milk.
The turkey dish, cubed stuffing, fresh cranberries and dinner rolls dropped in price this year.
Sweet potatoes, frozen green peas, a vegetable tray of carrots and celery, whole milk and whipping cream – rose in price.
Sweet potatoes are up 37%. Why? More than half of the nation’s sweet potatoes are grown in North Carolina, and they had significant crop damage due to hurricanes. Supply and Demand.
All I know is that my mother-in-law makes a heckuva candied yam dish.
At any rate, $55.18 for dinner for 10? For the tradition and the spirit of the holiday, the per-person cost can’t be beat!!
Talking Points for Thanksgiving
Mention that General Motors will not be offering Apple CarPlay or Android Auto in any of its vehicles by 2028. For real. That’ll take 15 minutes of conversation easily.
As a follow-up and to engage any Boomers at Thanksgiving, ask if there should be AM radio in new cars at all.
It makes you wonder who the focus group was for the GM decision; probably the same folks that drive Buicks. Get off my lawn!
Inside Information: The AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act (yes, that’s a thing) easily cleared a House committee by a vote of 50-1.
It awaits action in the full House and a Senate version has also cleared committee. It mandates Amplitude Modulation frequency in all new cars.
Did you see that Nvidia had a 62% rise in revenue? And then follow up with the question “Do you think there is an AI bubble?”. No telling how much time that’ll take up.
Three brothers were cleaning out their mother’s attic, and tucked under a pile of newspapers were some old comic books, in excellent condition.
Superman Issue #1 was one of them.
It sold at auction for $9,120,000 last week, making it the most expensive comic book sold at auction.
Finally, when people have overstayed their welcome, ask “Well, Australia won the first test match of the Ashes. Do you think England can make a comeback next week?”. That should result in crickets, which is entirely accurate. It’s a cricket match.
For extra credit, you can then launch a YouTube tutorial on how a cricket test match is scored and let the food coma kick in… zzzzzzzz………
Thanksgiving continued…
It turns out the folks on the Mayflower had the honor of starting the inaugural Thanksgiving celebration in North America. They landed on what is now Cape Cod on November 11, 1620. While it is documented that they attempted to continue to Virginia, I suspect the captain had enough of people saying, “Are we there yet?” and just dropped the anchor in the closest bay he could find.
A year later, only 53 of the original 103 remained, having lost most to a nasty combination of scurvy, pneumonia, and tuberculosis. That’s what a nasty winter will do.
And some folks think life is hard now…
They were able to plant crops in the spring of 1621 and, with the help of the local Wampanoag Indians, managed to survive, and it is with the Wampanoags that they celebrated Thanksgiving in 1621, 404 years ago this week.
Fun Fact: The Wampanoags helped the Pilgrims get their act together with crops and basic survival, in exchange for the Pilgrims helping provide protection from the competing Narragansett tribe. And the protection racket was born…
Yes, there are other dates and locations that vie for the honor of being recognized as the first Thanksgiving, but this one is the most widely recognized by many historians.
I have found that the most successful business owners and managers also show their thanks to their employees. So, let’s carve a little time out to thank the folks who helped make you or your department successful or helped take your company to the finish line this year. Whether you have one employee or hundreds, show them you care. It will pay dividends, I promise.
From the 1999 edition of The World Book Encyclopedia:
Thanksgiving Day is a day set aside each year for giving thanks to God for blessings received during the year. On this day, people give thanks with feasting and prayer.
Thank you for being a reader and sharing your thoughts with me to help make me better, each and every week. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
