Join us for the Season Two premier of “On the Job,” a weekly podcast from Express Employment Professionals.
“On the Job” celebrates the journey of hard-working men and women across America as they work to make the American dream their reality. In season 2 of the podcast from Express Employment Professionals, you’ll share their ups and downs, triumphs and challenges, and the oftentimes winding roads that lead them to find satisfaction, earn a living, and define who they are within their communities and the world beyond.
This first installment of the weekly series is entitled, “On the Job – The Second Act: From Dentist in China to LA Musician.”
Mr. Song left his home in China and moved to Los Angeles after his wife passed away. He had plans to continue practicing his lifelong career of dentistry, but when things didn’t work out quite as he had planned, Mr. Song decided to switch gears by bringing the erhu, a traditional Chinese folk instrument, to his new American audience.
Listen to Episode 1 above or download it and subscribe to future episodes of “On The Job” on iHeart, iTunes, or wherever you get your podcasts.
US Economy SMASHES ESTIMATES, Adds 230K Jobs
The United States economy added approximately 228,000 jobs in November alone; slashing the unemployment rate to just 4.1 percent and busting expectations that predicted payrolls to grow by 200,000.
According to CNBC, average hourly earnings also rose by 0.2 percent in the same month; resulting in 2.5 percent growth in 2017.
“The November employment data is largely as expected. For an expansion that began in mid-2009, no negative surprises are welcome,” said a senior economic analyst at Bankrate.com. “The lingering impacts of recent hurricanes and flooding have reverted back to relative calm in the statistics, meaning that this is a ‘cleaner’ number.”
Surprisingly, the second largest gains were seen in the manufacturing sector; adding 31,000 jobs in the industry. The economy saw a total in goods-producing occupations tick upwards to 62,000.
Construction also saw steep gains, adding 24,000 jobs –most of which were in “specialty trade” contracts.
“With continued improvement in the labor market, room for continued upward trajectory in 2018 is likely limited because there’s not much slack left to hire workers for further growth,” said one economist.
GREAT AGAIN: $2 TRILLION Added to US Economy Under President Trump
The United States Stock Market has added over $2 trillion to the American economy since President Trump won the 2016 presidential election; smashing expectations and further signaling a robust recovery following years of stagnant growth under Barack Obama.
According to CNBC, the S&P 500 stock index grew by $2.04 trillion since Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton last November; soaring after the election on renewed hopes of significant tax reform and the reduction of burdensome regulations imposed by Trump’s predecessor.
The largest gains were seen in information technology, financial services, healthcare, and materials.
President Trump now sets his sights on reforming the nation’s complicated and outdated tax code, a key campaign promise to deliver tax relief to millions of American families and businesses.
“People are in wait-and-see mode in terms of tax reform. We get a bit of a pop every time it gets mentioned, but I think the market is in a bit of disbelief,” said one market strategist.
Analysts also credit President Trump’s pledge to rebuild the American military with the massive rise in stocks associated with Defense contracts, reporting some businesses have seen growth of 30% since the US election last fall.