{"id":62248,"date":"2024-01-24T10:19:57","date_gmt":"2024-01-24T18:19:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=62248"},"modified":"2024-01-24T10:19:57","modified_gmt":"2024-01-24T18:19:57","slug":"whats-ahead-for-the-u-s-economy-in-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=62248","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s Ahead for the U.S. Economy in 2024?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_author tdi_54 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_1 tdb-post-meta\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_54\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-author-name-wrap\"><span class=\"tdb-author-by\">By<\/span><a class=\"tdb-author-name\" href=\"https:\/\/ethnicmediaservices.org\/author\/selen-ozturk\/\">Selen Ozturk<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_date tdi_55 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_1 tdb-post-meta\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_55\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><i class=\"tdb-date-icon tdc-font-fa tdc-font-fa-calendar\"><\/i><time class=\"entry-date updated td-module-date\" datetime=\"2024-01-23T10:22:27-08:00\">Jan 23, 2024<\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_subtitle tdi_56 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_1\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_56\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>Although inflation and unemployment rates are falling, many Americans are struggling to stay afloat with record-high costs of living.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_featured_image tdi_57 tdb-content-horiz-left td-pb-border-top td_block_template_1\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_57\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"entry-thumb\" title=\"economy\" src=\"https:\/\/ethnicmediaservices.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/economy.png\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ethnicmediaservices.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/economy.png 1200w, https:\/\/ethnicmediaservices.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/economy-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/ethnicmediaservices.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/economy-1024x683.png 1024w, https:\/\/ethnicmediaservices.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/economy-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/ethnicmediaservices.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/economy-150x100.png 150w, https:\/\/ethnicmediaservices.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/economy-696x464.png 696w, https:\/\/ethnicmediaservices.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/economy-1068x712.png 1068w\" alt=\"economy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_content tdi_58 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_1 td-post-content tagdiv-type\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_58\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>Although inflation and unemployment rates are falling, many Americans are struggling to stay afloat with record-high costs of living.<\/p>\n<p>At a Friday, January 19 Ethnic Media Services briefing, experts across the financial spectrum \u2014 from housing to oil to small business \u2014 discussed how our current economy is impacting some of its most vulnerable members, and suggested what\u2019s ahead for 2024.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The struggle for housing<\/h2>\n<p>Even in the wealthiest regions of the Bay Area like Silicon Valley \u2014 the fifth-largest economy in the world \u2014 the struggle to find housing is communitywide, said Nathan Ganeshan, founder of homeless aid nonprofit\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/communityseva.org\/\">Community Seva<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Though California has 12% of the U.S. population, it has\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bayareacouncil.org\/uncategorized\/homelessness-grew-in-california-in-2023-but-at-a-slower-pace-than-the-rest-of-the-u-s\/#:~:text=California%20continues%20to%20lose%20ground,percent%20of%20the%20total%20U.S.\">28%<\/a>\u00a0of its homeless population.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"youtube-embed\" data-video_id=\"36cvSN2PH4g\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"widget2\" title=\"In the Bay Area, Finding a Job is Not the Problem; Finding Housing Is\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/36cvSN2PH4g?feature=oembed&amp;enablejsapi=1\" width=\"100%\" height=\"392\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-10=\"true\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Nathan Ganeshan, Founder of Community Seva, discusses housing and homelessness in the Bay Area.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Since 2013, Community Seva has helped about 320,000 of these individuals \u201cby serving hot meals, blankets, sleeping bags, grocery gift cards, hygiene products, temporary housing, advocacy and more,\u201d Ganeshan said. \u201cWe shouldn\u2019t forget how entwined the struggle for basic needs like food and hygiene is with the struggle to find housing. However much the economy is improving, it\u2019s riskier for those on the edge if the cost of basic needs is also rising.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In Santa Clara County alone, where 10,000 people are homeless, over a quarter of all people are food-insecure \u2014 and these risks extend well beyond those who are unhoused. Even among those in the high-paying tech world, precarity looms in Santa Clara, the state\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kron4.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2023\/06\/2023-Rent-Report.pdf\">third-most<\/a>\u00a0expensive housing market.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith the ongoing tech layoffs, we\u2019ve seen firsthand a severe impact of housing, as parking lots in Santa Clara are filling more and more with people living in cars and RVs,\u201d added Ganeshan. \u201cSomeone recently said to me \u2018I lost my job, but I can always find another one. But I lost my house, and I can\u2019t get another here.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The housing market<\/h2>\n<p>Home prices have drastically outpaced income nationwide because \u201cthe pandemic brought drastic changes to supply and demand,\u201d said Rob Warnock, Senior Research Associate at\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/apartmentlist.com\/research\">Apartment List<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMany people took their homes off the market while many others decided to buy \u2014 and skyrocketing prices didn\u2019t slow until the middle of 2022, when the Federal Reserve started to raise interest rates \u2014 but homes are still\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/us-starter-home-price-housing-affordability-real-estate-2023-8\">45%<\/a>\u00a0more expensive now than they were before the pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"youtube-embed\" data-video_id=\"AAjcLDsoTyA\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"widget4\" title=\"Where Has the Affordable Housing Crisis Gotten Worse?\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AAjcLDsoTyA?feature=oembed&amp;enablejsapi=1\" width=\"100%\" height=\"392\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-10=\"true\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Rob Warnock, Senior Research Associate at Apartment List, identifies where the housing affordability crisis has worsened and explains why it has happened.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In contrast, he continued, \u201cRents fell during the pandemic because there were many more vacant apartments for rent than houses for sale.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As the economy emerged from the pandemic in 2021, rising rents worsened an affordability crisis which peaked in 2022, when over half of all U.S. renters were cost burdened, i.e. spending over 30% of their income on rent.<\/p>\n<p>Since then, rents have declined 4% as the U.S. has begun a massive construction boom, explained Warnock. Last year nearly 500,000 new apartments entered the market, \u201cwith about a million more in the next year or two.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s next for 2024?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHome sale prices should continue to rise,\u201d he said. \u201cThe Federal Reserve said they won\u2019t raise interest rates further, and for more homes on the market, there will also be more interested buyers. However, we expect new rentals to grow strong for the next 12 to 24 months, with new apartments curbing rent costs \u2026 It\u2019s a lesson we can all learn from: if you want affordable housing, build more of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Oil and gas<\/h2>\n<p>Oil prices, too, are stabilizing from pandemic peaks, said Denton Cinquegrana, Chief oil analyst at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.opisnet.com\/\">OPIS<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The national average for gas in 2023 was\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/204740\/retail-price-of-gasoline-in-the-united-states-since-1990\/#:~:text=In%202023%2C%20customers%20at%20U.S.,3.95%20U.S.%20dollars%20in%202022.\">$3.52 a gallon<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 down nearly 11% from $3.95 in 2022, when Russia attacked Ukraine \u201cand there was a concern that markets would lose seven to eight million barrels a day of oil from Russia,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"youtube-embed\" data-video_id=\"EKM-5r6hGG8\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"widget6\" title=\"Will Changes in Oil Production Affect Prices in 2024?\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EKM-5r6hGG8?feature=oembed&amp;enablejsapi=1\" width=\"100%\" height=\"392\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-10=\"true\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Denton Cinquegrana, Chief Oil Analyst, Oil Price Information Service (OPIS) gives an overview of oil production in 2024 and how it might affect prices over the coming year.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cBut as the year went on, oil exports continued to non-sanctioning countries like China and India,\u201d he continued. \u201cThough tensions are rising in the Middle East now, the situation looks similar \u2014 oil production hasn\u2019t shut, and the only cost added is from the extra time it takes to avoid the area and ship oil around the Cape of Good Hope instead.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the year ahead, Cinquegrana said \u201cprices will probably fall five to 15 cents less than 2023 \u2014 likely around $3.45 to $3.50.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Although the nationwide electrification of cars is further increasing the supply and lowering the cost of oil, \u201cthis process is very slow,\u201d he added. \u201cIt takes about 10 to 12 years to turn over the fleet\u201d of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/859950\/vehicles-in-operation-by-quarter-united-states\/\">over 280 million<\/a>\u00a0cars registered in the U.S. A stronger dampening of prices may owe to the fact that \u201cthe cars we drive now are much more fuel-efficient than they were a decade or two ago, and the fact that since the pandemic, many drivers still work from home.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">AAPI small businesses<\/h2>\n<p>AAPI is the fastest-growing minority community in the U.S., contributing over $1 trillion in economic output in 2021 alone and making up nearly 10% of all entrepreneurs nationwide \u2014 with 2.9 million AAPI businessowners employing 5.1 million people, said Chiling Tong, president and CEO of National Asian\/Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce and Entrepreneurship (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aapistrong.com\/\">National ACE<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>As AAPI business owners continue to recover from the pandemic, the top challenge they face is \u201caccess to capital,\u201d she continued. \u201cNearly 30% of respondents to our most recent survey have very low confidence that they could fund an emergency $5,000 business expense.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"youtube-embed\" data-video_id=\"P1Qg_T9aGTw\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"widget8\" title=\"Small Business Growth is Strong, But 2024 Poses New Challenges\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/P1Qg_T9aGTw?feature=oembed&amp;enablejsapi=1\" width=\"100%\" height=\"392\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-10=\"true\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Chiling Tong, President and CEO at National Asian &amp; Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce &amp; Entrepreneurship (National ACE), discusses small business ownership in the current economy.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>What aid is available \u2014 specifically the COVID-era Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans \u2014 AAPI entrepreneurs are more often unaware of, most often due to language barriers, she added. In\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reimaginemainstreet.org\/back-to-business-are-small-businesses-rebounding-from-covid-19\">2021<\/a>, AAPI small business owners had a 66% funding rate through the Paycheck Protection Program compared to 75% for whites.<\/p>\n<p>Despite these challenges, 2023 saw an unprecedented\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sba.gov\/article\/2024\/01\/11\/new-business-applications-reach-record-16-million-under-biden-harris-administration\">5.5 million<\/a>\u00a0new business applications filed, making it the strongest year of new business applications on record; in total, the U.S. has over 33 million small businesses.<\/p>\n<p>In short, expectations for the year ahead are\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/sbecouncil.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/SBE-Small-Business-Checkup-Survey-Dec-2023-FINAL.pdf\">mixed<\/a>: While 61% of owners have a positive outlook for their own business in 2024, 71% hold a bleak view of the economy itself.<\/p>\n<p>These conditions mean that the economy is \u201cthe number one issue\u201d for many in the AAPI and small business community, said Tong. \u201cAlthough they feel personally positive, this is because they\u2019ve faced three years of inflating costs and supply disruptions. In 2024, they\u2019ll support leaders who convincingly promise a better economy ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BySelen Ozturk Jan 23, 2024 Although&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,9,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business","category-opinion","category-u-s-a"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62248","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=62248"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62248\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62249,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62248\/revisions\/62249"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=62248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=62248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=62248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}