Steven Drexel, Cornerstone President and CEO, Available as Reliable Media Source On Employment and Economic Outlook
Pleasanton, CA (PRWEB) September 04, 2015 -- With the release of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics' August 2015 Employment Situation (http://www.bls.gov/) on Friday September 4, Steve Drexel, Cornerstone Services president and chief executive officer, is ready and available for interviews or commentary on economic and employment data.
Drexel is an economist, a member of the Business Research Advisory Council of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and past chairman of the American Staffing Association’s Industry Information Committee. He has been interviewed for The Washington Post, Bloomberg Business News, CNN Radio, the Associated Press, The Houston Chronicle and The Houston Business Journal -- among many other national, regional and local media organizations.
Drexel’s biographical profile is available at http://www.cornerstone-staffing.com/. Please contact Brian Hatfield for any information or insights related to a wide range of employment and economic topics Drexel is prepared to comment on.
“I expect Friday’s Employment Situation Report to indicate that the labor market expanded by 200,000 jobs and the unemployment rate held steady at 5.3%,” states Drexel. “Most economic indicators point to a gain similar to July, or growth slightly better than July’s report -- but August has proven to be a statistically troublesome reporting period with the initial report historically falling short of the estimates and expectations. Therefore my prediction of slower growth is more about reporting noise and technical adjustments rather than a weaker labor market.”
Here are some of Drexel’s perspectives:
• On August Employment Figures
Positive employment indicators during August included improved Initial Jobless Claims, Manager’s Non-manufacturing Index, and the American Staffing Association’s Index (https://staffingtoday.net/). Most notably, the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index reported labor market improvement as the differential between “jobs plentiful” and “jobs hard to get” improved from -7.5 in July to 0.0 or even during August – marking the first time this differential measure has been even or better since 2008.
Negative employment indicators during August include the Purchasing Manager’s Manufacturing Employment Index and the Intuit Small Business Employment Index declined modestly during August (the first decline in four years).
• On the Economy, China, and the Financial markets
With respect to this Friday’s Employment Situation report, the pressing current events related to China and the equity markets will have no impact since the Employment report is based on data collected during mid-August which was well before the more recent drama. Over the longer term, slowing growth in China bears watching but should not ignite panic in the U.S. “Slower global growth can stifle the U.S. economic engine, and dampen profits at many large U.S. multinational firms,” says Drexel. “But it should not completely derail the U.S. economy based on what we see today.” The U.S. Stock markets were due for a regular, periodic correction and speculation related to China and a change in U.S. interest rate policy has caused volatility, but anxiety in financial markets is not evident on Main Street as measured by the weekly surveys and reports that economists follow.
“Economic forecasters continue to back the notion the economy is tracking along at a steady 2.0% to 2.4% annual growth rate consistent with continued stable employment growth and a gradually declining unemployment rate,” said Drexel. “The bias however has turned more cautious while events in Asia and the financial markets play out.” Drexel believes that fundamentally, the U.S. economy is healthy with solid demand and low inflation giving rise to the belief that volatility in the financial market can be tolerated either because the duration is short or the swings are within endurable ranges. Certainly, the risks have increased and the view could change because at some point, apprehension can depress demand which would be a bigger threat to the recovery.
More About Cornerstone Staffing
Cornerstone Staffing Solutions is among the top 120 largest staffing firms in America, as ranked by Staffing Industry Analysts. Since 2003, Cornerstone has grown from a neighborhood staffing provider to a $100 million national firm that employs thousands of people at hundreds of companies from California to Connecticut. Providing candidate searching and job placement for administrative, industrial, technical, sales and transportation positions, Cornerstone truly is where talent and jobs meet.
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Brian Hatfield, Cornerstone Staffing, http://www.cornerstone-staffing.com, +1 (480) 532-5170, [email protected]
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