Business at the Pennsylvania art industry firm where he worked had been brisk until a few months ago. But lately, jitters about the crashing stock market and a possible recession had many regulars tapping the brakes on new purchases.
“Over the last three months, sales dropped 50 percent, then 50 percent again, until they were basically at zero,” said Miller, 32, who is worried about future job prospects. “Most of our clients were in real estate or tech, and they’ve just disappeared. They don’t want to spend $10,000 on a painting if they’re worried things are going to crash in a few months.”
The labor market, until now a pillar of economic resilience, is showing cracks.
Job growth is slowing, unemployment claims are ticking up and several big companies, including Apple and Meta, are putting hiring plans on hold. There are signs that more firms are slashing jobs in industries as varied as tech, advertising, health care, finance and law.
Workers are picking up extra jobs just to pay for gas and food
Convenience store chain 7-Eleven laid off 880 corporate workers in Texas and Ohio, following its purchase of a rival chain, a company spokesperson said an email. Ford is planning to cut 8,000 positions in the coming weeks, Bloomberg News reported. Meanwhile, electric carmaker Rivian is cutting 700 positions, delivery start-up Gopuff is laying off 1,500, and mortgage lender LoanDepot is slashing 4,800 jobs this year, according to reports.
www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/the-job-market-is-beginning-to-show-cracks/ar-AAZQXk4