To view this email as a web page, click here.

By Kristin Myers, Editor-in-Chief

What's Happening Today

Good morning! It's Kristin with your daily morning digest.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported this morning that worker productivity plunged 7.5% in the first quarter in the measure's biggest drop since 1947. Productivity losses were likely due to falling output and fewer hours worked, but they weren't shared across industries. In the manufacturing sector, productivity actually rose 0.7% as workers put in longer hours and output increased 5.7%, bringing output 3.3% above pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

Labor costs relative to productivity surged 11.6%, as employers have raised wages to keep and attract employees amid a tight labor market, particularly in the leisure and hospitality industry. In fact, the number of job openings per unemployed person has shot up to new record highs every month since August, with 1.9 job openings for every unemployed person as of March, BLS data showed earlier this week.

Meanwhile, the number of people filing for unemployment for the first time jumped to 200,000 last week, an increase of nearly 20,000 from the week before. It's the highest level since February, and the biggest jump since July 2021. However, that figure is still in line with pre-pandemic levels.

Still, inflation has eroded wage gains for many U.S. workers. Yesterday, the Federal Reserve announced a rate hike of half a percentage point, as it moves to slow rising prices and tame inflation. However, Fed Chair Jerome Powell suggested higher rate hikes are off the table for future meetings, saying a rate hike of three-quarters of a percentage point was not something the Fed was "actively considering." Stocks rallied after the Fed's decision, though they're falling today.

If you missed yesterday's Instagram Live with Teri Ijeoma, founder of financial course "Trade and Travel," be sure to go back and watch that conversation here. Teri is a former school principal turned multimillionaire, and we discussed how to enjoy your wealth. It was our last conversation as part of The Balance's Financial Literacy Month Instagram Live series. Be sure to follow The Balance on Instagram to stay updated on all future conversations and events!

- Kristin

Editors' Picks

Federal Reserve Uses Entire Arsenal on Inflation (The Balance)

Federal Reserve Dictionary: Your Guide to the Jargon (The Balance)

Paid For 'Free' TurboTax Prep? You Might Get Money Back (The Balance)

Sen. Elizabeth Warren Questions Fidelity's Plan To Put Bitcoin in 401(k)s (The Wall Street Journal)

American Consumers Are Shopping, Traveling, and Working Out Like It's 2019 (The Wall Street Journal)

How To Determine the Value of a Business (The Balance)

How Does a Roth IRA Work? (The Balance)

TSP Max Contributions for 2022 (The Balance)

Please Take Our Reader Survey

Have you been impacted by rising prices? Take our quick survey and let us know. We'll share the results, and your answers are anonymous. Thanks so much!

Get Started

Off the Charts

The Federal Reserve ramped up its fight against inflation, hiking its federal funds rate target range by half a percentage point—double its typical increase—as most experts had expected. The fed funds rate heavily influences interest rates throughout the economy, including on credit cards and car loans, but it's not the rate you get on those loans. Banks typically charge a set amount above their so-called prime rate, and the prime rate moves in tandem with the fed funds rate, but is typically about 3 percentage points higher.