Friday in Whitewater will be mostly sunny with a high of 84. Sunrise is 5:52 and sunset is 8:07 for 14 hours 15 minutes of daylight. The moon is a waning crescent with 33.7 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1944, IBM dedicates the first program-controlled calculator, the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (known best as the Harvard Mark I).
[T]he Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday in a snapshot that showed a slowing employment picture.
Nonfarm payrolls fell by a seasonally adjusted 23,000 for the month, compared to a downwardly revised 20,000 for June. The Dow Jones consensus forecast had been looking for a gain of 83,000.
At the same time, the unemployment slipped to 4.1% as the labor force participation rate fell further to 61.4%, its lowest in more than five years.
In addition to the weak numbers for June and July, the final count for May was revised down to 63,000, or 66,000 lower than the prior estimate. The revised numbers brought the 12-month average down to just 34,000.
The drop was led by a 50,000 decline in local government education and a loss of 19,000 retail jobs. Financial activities also posted a 14,000 decline.
Healthcare, which has been the leading sector for job creation, rose by 22,000, which was below its 12-month average of 36,000.
While jobs held flat, worker pay also saw virtually no gain during the month. Average hourly earnings increased by just 2 cents, bringing the 12-month average down to 3.2%, below the forecast increase of 3.5%.
The report comes with Federal Reserve policymakers split on where interest rates should head in an economy where the labor market had been improving from a moribund year in 2025 while inflation has remained well above the central bank’s 2% target.
Local and statewide gains will come, regrettably, only against a federal tide of economic ignorance and mismanagement. Support for effective local development initiatives is always important; it’s even more important in these adverse national conditions.
Federal policy is part millstone and part albatross around the necks of ordinary Americans. Whitewater’s care for her own community, for the well-being of each and every resident, is made far harder, yet is no less important.
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Upcomingposts (in no decided order): A New Ethics Ordinance and a Whitewater Comparative Analysis.
Kohl’s was once a retail darling, carving out market share as a department store catering to the middle-income American consumer with coupons and deals that drove loyalty.
But over the past five years, Kohl’s stock has lost nearly 70% of its value, plummeting as the retailer reported weak sales.
As department stores struggle to stay relevant and middle-income consumers face budget pressure, Kohl’s is now trying to reinvigorate sales by leaning back into its core value proposition and investing in the store experience to ensure customers find what they need and keep coming back for more.
