As the price of energy and raw materials soared, and the exchange rate soared due to the US austerity policy, our economy is experiencing triple or even multiple hardships.
China, the 'world's factory' and the largest market, is also struggling by lowering its economic growth forecast.
Europe, which has been hit hard by natural gas supply shortages after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, is also in a bad situation enough to reverse the value of the euro versus the dollar.
Virtually the whole world is struggling, but there are exceptions.
That's America.
There are many negative factors, including supply chain disruptions and murderous inflation, so you might point out that only the US is in good shape, but looking at various circumstances, it is clear that compared to other countries, the current economic situation is much more stable.
Strong US labor market... "If you can't stay at home, go to another company"
Job market conditions are among the many factors that represent the economic situation in the United States.
The number of nonfarm payroll jobs increased by 528,000 in July, according to an employment report released by the U.S. Department of Labor on the 5th of last month.
This is more than double the 250,000 forecasts of experts compiled by Bloomberg.
The July unemployment rate also fell to 3.5%, the lowest level since 1969.
The average hourly wage increased by 5.2% compared to the same month last year.
Although labor costs are high in the United States, companies continue to pay attention to their employees as finding people is a 'star in the sky'.
A prime example of this is working from home.
The Washington Post reported that U.S. companies want their employees to return to their offices on Labor Day on the 5th of this month, but the backlash is not strong.
Employees prefer to stay at home and labor shortages are preventing them from doing this or that because of the market situation.
This situation can be seen more clearly if you look at the results of a survey of more than 8,000 workers in June this year by the polling agency Gallup.
The number of respondents saying they want to work from home is more than double that of October last year.
60% of full-time telecommuting employees say they are very likely to look for another job if they are partially unable to work from home.
One such example is when Apple recently announced that it would increase office commutes from two days a week to three days a week, and more than 1,000 employees signed a petition stating that the company did not take individual job needs or individual diversity into account.
Strong labor market = sustained inflation... must die to be caught
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Paradoxically, this robust labor market is also a testament to the continuing inflation, which America suffers most from inflation.
It is also the basis for the judgment that the US financial authorities will not change their stance towards raising interest rates.
An economist said that the strong job market despite a number of unfavorable conditions is a structure in which the US economy is still strong and inflation is inevitable due to rising wages.
The United States struggled until the early 1980s when it failed to catch inflation in the 1970s.
At the time, Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker managed to keep inflation at bay with ultra-high interest rates, but he had to make a lot of sacrifices in the process.
Although it is true that concerns over a recession are high in the US, Fed Chairman Powell has clearly demonstrated his will to control inflation by citing lessons from that time.
With the midterm elections in November ahead, US politicians are paying attention to economic indicators, but the central bank, the Federal Reserve, is taking a longer-term approach.
In fact, one economist once said, "It may sound awkward to say this, but the economy must eventually die to catch inflation."
How long will the US 'catch prices' tighten policy?
Based on past examples, experts believe that even if inflation passes the peak and the economy turns downward, it is unlikely that the Fed will change its tightening stance any time soon.
It is expected that this trend of rate hikes will continue until inflation expectations are met.
The strength of the dollar is likely to continue until this point.
This is because the dollar could depreciate when US interest rates fall and US investment becomes less attractive.
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If this happens, changes in the US job market will be inevitable.
It will most likely change from the current worker advantage to the employer advantage right now.
Telecommuting, which has become a trend after COVID-19, can also be significantly reduced.
With the development of IT, the form of telecommuting will continue to expand in the future, but at least as it is now, if it is not possible to work from home, the response of changing the company is bound to decrease significantly.
However, even in this process, the so-called poor, poor, and rich will remain.
"The company always allows remote work for employees who can't lose. I go out in the middle of meetings to feed chickens and horses," wrote an anonymous community post from an Apple employee who said he was working in the mountains of Montana, USA.