Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, revealed that the United States officially has more unemployed people than job openings — the first time that's happened since April 2021. Meanwhile, the unemployment number is climbing.
"This is yet another crack in the labor market that illustrates how much harder it is to get a new job right now than what we've seen in a long time," she wrote on X.
She also pointed out that the "hiring rate" in the country has fallen to just 3.3%, which is the lowest it has been since 2013.
"It's not healthy to have so little hiring. It's not dynamic. People can't grow in their careers. This is a frozen job market," she warned.
She also added the note, "Yes, the June 2024 hiring rate was 3.2%, but you can see below how low 3.3% really is compared to the past decade."
When it comes to housing, things are even worse, and Long thinks that Trump should declare a "national housing emergency."
"Honestly, it could be a good idea. Housing affordability in the US is basically at the worst point in about 40 years. It's been stuck there for ~3 years now," said Long.
She showed two charts that illustrate the problem: "1) Housing unaffordability is worst in 40 years, 2) Home prices and rent prices have shot up dramatically compared to median incomes."
"While housing is mostly a local government issue (zoning, etc.), there are some things the national government can do to help," Long added. 'And that list goes well beyond the Fed lowering interest rates. We need more home building. There are many ways to help incentivize (or subsidize) that."
It's the same thing that real estate developers have been saying for the past two months, CNBC reported. Quality low-income housing is too expensive to develop and still generate the profits they seek. He's hoping that government rescue might be on the way.
Also writing on Wednesday, Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman sounded the alarm.
The problem with Trump declaring a national housing emergency is that Trump will then work to "solve" the housing emergency.
"Unfortunately, everything Trump is doing that affects housing availability will make the emergency worse," said Krugman.
"Donald Trump loves emergencies," Krugman explained. "He has been in office less than 8 months, but has already formally declared 9 national emergencies, as well as a 'crime emergency' in Washington, D.C."
He noted that the prospect of the Trump administration saying there is a housing emergency gives him a "sinking feeling."
"The popular perception that housing has become unaffordable is grounded in reality," Krugman said, citing the data.
The fear is that Trump will follow the Heritage Foundation's "Project 2025" manifesto, "Mandate for Leadership." Rather than helping to subsidize affordable housing with tax breaks or subsidies to developers to drive down costs, the far-right plan is simply to deregulate pollution controls. Housing is all about "not in my back yard."
"Congress should prioritize any and all legislative support for the single-family home," the plan demands.
See some of the charts and graphs below or at the link here.
