Household net worth jumps to a record
U.S. household net worth jumped to a fresh record in the fourth quarter of 2021 on rising stock prices and higher home values.
Household net worth increased by $5.3 trillion, or 3.7%, after a more moderate gain in the third quarter, a Federal Reserve report showed Thursday. The fourth-quarter advance pushed net worth to more than $150 trillion.
The value of real estate held by households rose by $1.5 trillion and the value of equity holdings climbed $2.5 trillion.
While the omicron variant and related surge in COVID-19 infections dented economic activity in the final weeks of 2021, there was little effect on wealth in the quarter as the S&P 500 rose to new highs. More recently, stocks have slid on concerns about the economic impact from Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Meantime, mortgage rates have risen to levels not seen since 2019, which could eventually lead to a cooling in the rapid price gains seen in the housing market.
In an effort to tame inflation, the Fed next week is expected to raise interest rates for the first time since 2018.
Airlines begin trimming flights in response to rising fuel costs
U.S. airlines have begun paring flight plans due to soaring fuel prices, underscoring the speed at which Russia's attack on Ukraine has upended the industry and jeopardized a hoped-for rebound this year.
Alaska Air Group will trim flying by as much as 5% in the first half in response to “the sharp rise in fuel costs,” according to a regulatory filing Tuesday.
Allegiant Airlines plans to reduce second-quarter capacity between 5% and 10%, Chief Financial Officer Greg Anderson said at a Raymond James Financial Inc. conference Monday. The carrier will trim flight frequency mainly in weaker demand times. The comments were confirmed by an Allegiant spokeswoman.
The industry concern is that exorbitant gasoline prices could sap consumers' spending power and lead to slower demand for vacations and other leisure pursuits. Higher prices also raise costs for airlines, making it difficult to maintain profits if they can't pass the expenses along to customers.
Seattle-based Alaska sees continued strong demand for spring break and summer travel, but it cited fuel prices as a significant uncertainty. “The impact on the economy is the question we all have now,” CFO Shane Tackett said at a Raymond James conference.
Alaska still expects to return to its full pre-pandemic levels of capacity this summer but “will continue to prudently adjust capacity as necessary in response to the evolving fuel environment,” the company said in the filing.
U.S. worker shortage persists with 11.3 million jobs open
America's worker shortage is far from over: In January, the nation had a record 11.3 million jobs to fill and not enough workers to do so, according to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
This exceeded economists' expectations and blew past the previous peak for open positions, set at 11.1 million last July.
Despite the new record high, job openings fell in several industries as infections from the omicron variant of the coronavirus weighed on some businesses. Hotels, restaurants and bars recorded the biggest decrease in available positions, followed by transportation, warehouse, utilities and the federal government.
Professional and business services, education and transport and warehousing counted the most available job openings.
Meanwhile, the number of hires and quits were unchanged between December and January: 6.5 million workers were hired and 4.3 million workers quit their jobs at the start of the year, the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed Wednesday.
The quits rate improved to 2.8% from 3% in December.
Better pay, as people are trying to offset the higher prices everywhere from the grocery store to the gas pump, has been a big motivator for Americans to switch jobs.