The Daily Valet. - 1/27/23, Friday
✔️ Are You Working Less?
Friday, January 27th Edition
By Cory Ohlendorf, Valet. Editor
I just learned that paprika is made from ground red peppers. It has nothing to do with the newsletter, but I thought you should know too.
Today’s Big Story
Americans Are Working Less
And men in the top 10% of earners cut back their time on the job the most
There's been a lot of talk lately about the American workforce. If it feels like it's been years of “Now Hiring” signs dotting storefronts and slower service as a result of the ubiquitous staffing shortages, that's because it has.The U.S. is still in the midst of a worker shortage, with approximately 10.5 million open jobs available as of the end of 2022. And while much has been made about the lower labor force participation rate following the outbreak of COVID-19, the Great Resignation and “quiet quitting”, it's not the whole story.Turns out, we're not just missing workers—the U.S. labor force overall is working less. And the pullback in the number of hours worked may have a more significant and long-term impact, reports Fortune.And surprisingly, no group has dialed back its time on the clock more than young, high-earning men whose jobs typically demand long hours. The top-earning 10% of men in the U.S. labor market logged 77 fewer work hours in 2022, on average, than those in the same earnings group in 2019, according to a new study of federal data by the economics department at Washington University in St. Louis. That translates to 1.5 hours less time on the job each workweek.Still, American workers spend more time on the clock than employees in other developed countries, and it adds up. A new report from the International Labour Organization, which is a U.N. agency, finds that the average number of working hours per year was higher in the U.S. than in six developed countries used in the study's comparison: Australia, the U.K., Sweden, Belgium, France and Germany.
Meanwhile:
Forget “quiet quitting,” Newsweek says 2023 will be all about “loud layoffs”.
The U.S. Economy Grew Last Year
The GDP Increased at an annual rate of 2.9% in the last quarter of 2022
The U.S. economy grew at an “annualized 2.9% rate in the final months of 2022,” the Commerce Department said on Thursday. The robust growth number, combined with low unemployment and solid consumer spending, indicates that the U.S. economy is healthy.Economists are bracing for a significant slowdown in economic activity as the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes take hold, but that certainly wasn't the case in the final months of last year.For the full year, our gross domestic product increased 2.1%, down from the red-hot 5.9% across 2021, which was the fastest pace of growth since 1984. Consumer spending, which accounts for about 68% of GDP, brought in the biggest boost. Among the biggest drags: fixed investment, a category that includes housing. But it's important to remember that the first half of 2022 was dogged by fears that the economy had entered a recession—after back-to-back quarters of contractions. But by the second half of the year, the economy had returned to growth mode.
FYI:
On the inflation front, the Federal Reserve's preferred measure showed prices continued to stabilize during the quarter.
What Happened to Station Wagons?
They're in peril in the U.S., But there are few still kicking around
They were once the quintessential American family car. But station wagons are perhaps the best cars American customers don't want to buy anymore ... for whatever reason. They offer cargo space similar to most crossovers and SUVs, while being as or more fuel-efficient and easier to park than those vehicles.Wagons are often better looking than high-sided SUVs, which are in essence just heavier, fuel-sucking lifted station wagons. In spite of all of those admirable qualities, wagons have largely been ignored in the States since the rise of the SUV and usually sell in small numbers. “The standard data provider for vehicle sales doesn't even break down wagons anymore,” one auto analyst told InsideHook. “Most of the time, they'll probably end up classified as a crossover or a hatchback.”Of course, there are a few wagons hanging on. Car and Driver says they're some great models worth celebrating because they balance cargo space and comfort with athleticism (not to mention fuel economy).
Lexicon:
A wagon by any other name ... sometimes they're simply referred to as a “hatchback” or “five-door”.
Master the Art of Introductions
It’s an under-practiced skill that should be developed
Maybe it's generational. Because a proper introduction feels like something of a bygone era. Like three-martini lunches or smoking in the office. It's just not something we do all that regularly.Of course, there are lots of upsides to today's casualness. You feel less burdened by arbitrary rules and expectations, you can practically wear whatever you like to work and saying hello to someone you find attractive is as simple as swiping a finger on your phone.The downside, is that we've become incredibly lax when it comes to introductions. Maybe we say hello, but do we introduce ourselves? Rarely. Think about a time when you were out with friends and ran into a coworker or an acquaintance. You probably greeted them but failed to introduce your friends and this person, right? It's becoming something of a lost art, the introduction. But it's a necessary skill.
Read:
In Other News
Former president Jimmy Carter is actually exempt from the Presidential Records Act.
Have you heard about ...
A Weekend Pairing
‘You People’ + Puszta Libre Wine
You People, Netflix’s new love story starring Jonah Hill and Lauren London, has all the bones of its rom-com predecessors: the opening meet-cute, in which Hill’s Ezra mistakes London’s Amira for his Uber driver; a surly father of the bride (Eddie Murphy) and several hilariously awkward meet-the-parents scenes. And yet there is something about the funny, fresh film that subverts almost every genre convention it invokes.It’s being called a “culturally astute satire” and a “modern twist on Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner." Just like that film 50 years ago, it’s the parents that cause all the problems. Just sit back, relax and watch the fireworks, including one literally inflammatory scene in which Ezra’s neurotic mother (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) accidentally sets fire to the prized kufi—a gift from Louis Farrakhan—worn by Murphy’s character, a Muslim convert, during a prickly dinner-table conversation.
Pair It With
For something just as surprising and pleasant, try this easy-drinking chillable red wine from Austria. Officially a Blaufränkisch, it’s a juicy wine full of blackberry and cherry jam aromas with a hint of black tea. And yeah, it comes in a vessel that looks not unlike a vintage Coke bottle.
Also Worth a Watch:
‘The Deer King’ on Hulu, ‘Shotgun Wedding’ on Amazon Prime Video and the ‘John Wick’ trilogy on HBO Max
Shopping
What We’re Buying
A Leather Phone Wallet
Need to consolidate your phone and wallet into one pocket? This phone case is the answer to all your storage woes. The leather card pocket holds up to three bank cards and an ID, the vegetable-tanned Ecco leather ages beautifully, and the 1mm raised leather bezel safeguards your screen from drops or other accidents.
Get It:
Full leather wallet case for iPhone 14,$67 / $50 by Mujjo
Morning Motto
Take some long, deep breaths this weekend.
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