Macro indicators from the economy are often lost as we scroll through our daily news and LinkedIn feeds. In an election year, politicians and mass media tell us inaccurate, simplistic stories about the economy:  it’s all good or bad. The truth is – it’s somewhere in between for most people and it depends on where you live and your industry.

I’m not an economist but I am an expert in researching and understanding trends that impact the accuracy and effectiveness of Career Key’s new courseware, career assessments, and career advice self-help articles.

If you’re interested, I recommend two independent sources that give context to U.S. government labor market data, ITR Economics and Lightcast (formerly Burning Glass).

As you update your advising and career counseling materials in 2024, let me summarize a few trends you might consider – depending on your region’s dominant industries.

Economic indicators

• Interest rates and inflation will go down (slowly), which means residential real estate and mortgage banking may slightly recover – or at least stop the freefall, and

• Labor tightness overall continues, which means wages will continue rising.

Certain industries will continue to rise or slow (our “back of the napkin” terms) in terms of labor market opportunity for your students and clients.

Slow

Any industry highly impacted by high interest rates:

commercial real estate,

commercial construction,

architecture,

commercial lending, bank loans, mortgage banking

Neutral to slow

Manufacturing: neutral or slow, depending on industry.  The contraction of U.S. business with China is having an impact, and that will continue.

Agriculture: neutral, food price inflation eases, impacts depend on weather pattern El Niño, and China’s slower economy.  More detail.

Rising (as you expected)

Technology: Yes, AI is creating a boom or bubble, depending on how you look at it. But cloud based technology, data lakes, alternative energy powered machines (cars, drones, and everything in between) are expanding.

Healthcare: driven by the demographic impact of Baby Boomers getting older. This continues until the mid 2030s…

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