Going, going, stayed… Two labor reports will help clarify the state of the US job market this week. On Tuesday we’ll get October job opening #s and (more interestingly) quits. The quit rate’s held steady at 2.3% (a prepandemic level) for three months, as workers U-turn on the Great Resignation, opting for the Big Stay (73% said they’ll remain at their jobs this year — up from 61%). Next, the November jobs report will show whether wage growth and job gains continued to slow. Unemployment has been ticking up, and last month hit a nearly two-year high of 3.9%.
Dollar doldrums…. Dollar General’s expected to feel the pinch when it drops earnings Wednesday. The one-buck retailer’s stock sank in August after it cut its annual revenue guidance while profits fell 30% to $678M. Last week, rival Dollar Tree also slashed its annual sales forecast as shoppers cut back on nonessentials (think: apples > air fryers). Wild stat: a third of all US stores opened in the past two years were $ stores. But with 60% of Americans living check to check, thrifty shoppers are even slimming their bargain carts.