More labor market blues

What It Covers

Labor market challenges intensify as small businesses struggle with hiring quality, wage growth slows for low-income workers, and economic uncertainty from tariffs forces employers to freeze raises and delay hiring plans.

Key Questions Answered

• •Small Business Hiring Crisis: 32% of small business owners report unfilled positions while 27% cite labor quality as their top problem, the highest since 2021, as workers with existing jobs avoid job-hunting amid widespread layoff concerns and economic uncertainty.
• •Wage Growth Stagnation: Real income growth stuck at 2% annually, the lowest in a decade, with bottom-tier workers experiencing the slowest wage increases as tariffs pressure small businesses to freeze raises and reduce hiring, reversing pandemic-era gains for lowest-paid employees.
• •50-Year Mortgage Math: Proposed 50-year mortgages would reduce monthly payments by $147 on a $200,000 loan but carry higher interest rates, slower equity building, and leave homeowners vulnerable to market risks, failing to address the core housing shortage problem.
• •Municipal Bond Surge: Municipal bond issuance hits record $500 billion in 2025 as cities issue catch-up debt for pandemic-delayed projects, with larger project sizes driven by rising concrete and steel costs plus finally deploying federal pandemic aid after years of preparation.