April 17, 2018 is the deadline for Americans to file their individual tax returns for 2017. With the passage of the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017, there are significant changes in the federal individual income tax rates and deductions allowed. While those changes will mostly impact American taxpayers when they file tax returns in 2019, it is never too early to start understanding and planning for changes.
A lot has already been said regarding Amazon and its search for a second headquarters (HQ2). Some argue HQ2 will bring a great benefit to the selected region, with Amazon saying they will invest over $5 billion and hire up to 50,000 employees for HQ2. Others have been more critical, arguing that the cost in the form of tax subsidies may not be worth the benefit gained. Additionally, there has been a lot of comparing the cities competing for HQ2, with front runners including Austin, Washington DC, and Denver, depending on which analysis you read.
Colleges and universities offering programs that lead to careers in occupations that are relatively high-paying and have low unemployment tend to have lower student loan default rates. Some of the top “low-default occupations” for jobs that typically require an associate’s degree theoretically would be dental hygienists and respiratory therapists.
Student loan defaults in the United States have been a growing problem. After reaching a historic low of 4.5% in 2003, student loan default rates have been trending upward, rising to 10.0% for the 2011 cohort.
Recently, we wrote about employment growth in manufacturing. Here, we look at manufacturing growth in terms of workers per establishment. Prior to the recession, the average number of workers per manufacturing establishment had been declining. During the recession, the decline accelerated before recovering somewhat and then plateauing at an average of about 36 workers per establishment in 2012. Most manufacturing sub-sectors (three-digit NAICS codes) followed the same general trend.