Southern Jewelry News
  • Featured
    • All
    • Featured
    • Featured Retailers
    • Retailer Roundtable
    • Sponsored Content
    • Supplier Spotlight
    Father’s wisdom takes NM jeweler to fourth generation
    Young Jewelers, a mainstay in downtown Jasper, Alabama for 75 years.
    75 years Young: Strong women always innovating
    An Ocean Full of Diamonds
    RDI Diamonds provides business solutions for independent jewelers
  • Latest News
    • All
    • COVID-19
    • Furry Friends
    • Industry Awards
    • Industry Events
    • NRF
    • On The Move
    • Other News
    • Tradeshow News
    • Video
    • What's New
    jewelers Security Alliance logo
    JSA offers recommendations for what to do in a robbery
    Ethical Metalsmiths announces launch of Grantorship Program
    Jewelers Mutual® Group celebrates 110 years
    Twenty-Four Karat Club New York hosts 120th Annual Banquet
  • Podcast
  • Columnists
    Image of Chuck Koehler
    The Retailer’s Perspective: Just Say No! If You Can
    The Story Behind the Stone: The Wonder of it All
    Is the customer always right?
    Successful Custom: Stressing the bench jeweler
    The Story Behind the Stone: Diamonds on Pins and Needles
    Jewelry Marketing Survival Guide
    The Story Behind the Stone: Out of the Blue
    What’s Hot Now!: Latest Designer Trends 2023
    A Winning Strategy: How SEO and buying intent can skyrocket your sales
  • Classifieds
  • Subscriptions
    • Newsletter Signup
    • Print Subscription
No Result
View All Result
Southern Jewelry News
  • Featured
    • All
    • Featured
    • Featured Retailers
    • Retailer Roundtable
    • Sponsored Content
    • Supplier Spotlight
    Father’s wisdom takes NM jeweler to fourth generation
    Young Jewelers, a mainstay in downtown Jasper, Alabama for 75 years.
    75 years Young: Strong women always innovating
    An Ocean Full of Diamonds
    RDI Diamonds provides business solutions for independent jewelers
  • Latest News
    • All
    • COVID-19
    • Furry Friends
    • Industry Awards
    • Industry Events
    • NRF
    • On The Move
    • Other News
    • Tradeshow News
    • Video
    • What's New
    jewelers Security Alliance logo
    JSA offers recommendations for what to do in a robbery
    Ethical Metalsmiths announces launch of Grantorship Program
    Jewelers Mutual® Group celebrates 110 years
    Twenty-Four Karat Club New York hosts 120th Annual Banquet
  • Podcast
  • Columnists
    Image of Chuck Koehler
    The Retailer’s Perspective: Just Say No! If You Can
    The Story Behind the Stone: The Wonder of it All
    Is the customer always right?
    Successful Custom: Stressing the bench jeweler
    The Story Behind the Stone: Diamonds on Pins and Needles
    Jewelry Marketing Survival Guide
    The Story Behind the Stone: Out of the Blue
    What’s Hot Now!: Latest Designer Trends 2023
    A Winning Strategy: How SEO and buying intent can skyrocket your sales
  • Classifieds
  • Subscriptions
    • Newsletter Signup
    • Print Subscription
No Result
View All Result
Southern Jewelry News
No Result
View All Result
Home Latest News NRF

NRF Chief Economist says economy has ‘strong momentum’ despite inflation, Ukraine challenges

April 4, 2022
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Reading Time: 4 minutes

National Retail Federation(WASHINGTON) – Top challenges have shifted from COVID-19 to inflation and the war in Ukraine, and the U.S. economy will continue to face uncertainties in the year ahead, National Retail Federation (NRF) Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz said.

“While the public health situation has greatly improved, the impact of the pandemic continues to spread,” Kleinhenz said. “That ripple has extended into 2022 and includes a disproportionate impact from inflation reaching a 40-year high brought about by strong consumer demand interacting with restricted supply.”

“Complicating the picture is the very high uncertainty associated with the war in Ukraine and its effect on the world economy,” Kleinhenz said. “While the United States has a limited trade link with Russia, the war continues to overshadow economic news and could have a potentially serious effect on prices for energy and commodities, adding to inflation concerns. The bottom line is that there are just as many uncertainties weighing on the outlook for growth as there were a year ago even if some of the forces at play have changed.”

Kleinhenz’s remarks came in the April issue of NRF’s Monthly Economic Review, which said the economy nonetheless “has strong momentum and the consumer is in the driver’s seat.” Gross domestic product is expected to grow 3.5 percent this year and personal consumption should be up by the same amount, both down from last year’s unusually high growth rates but still well above pre-pandemic levels.

Job growth and wage increases should drive overall income gains this year, combining with strong household savings built up during the pandemic to support strong retail sales, the report said. Employment should grow by an average 290,000 jobs per month and the unemployment rate should drop to 3.6 percent, close to the 50-year low of 3.5 percent seen just before the pandemic. Any constraints on job growth are expected to be on the supply side as the labor shortage continues, but rising wages could entice people who are not currently seeking work to do so.

Interest rate hikes begun last month by the Federal Reserve to bring inflation under control could slow rate-sensitive consumer spending like home and auto purchases or the use of credit cards, but Kleinhenz said he believes the economy is strong enough to withstand the hikes.

“Given the recent geopolitical disruptions, it is likely that there will be some resetting of the U.S. and world economies and that both businesses and consumers will be affected, but it is too soon to tell by how much or for how long,” Kleinhenz said. “Considerable uncertainty abounds this year and we will be monitoring all developments very closely.”

The report comes as NRF is forecasting that retail sales for 2022 will increase between 6 percent and 8 percent to between $4.86 trillion and $4.95 trillion. The forecast was released during NRF’s annual State of Retail and the Consumer virtual event, where retail industry leaders discussed the strength of the consumer economy and the future of retail.

Related Posts

Jewelers Mutual® Group celebrates 110 years

March 29, 2023
JBT-logo-cover

Richard Katz, Richline Group appointed Chairman of The Jewelers Board of Trade®

March 27, 2023
Alan Revere

AJDC elects Alan Revere as President

March 27, 2023

Kingswood Company President and CEO Kristie Nicolosi inducted into Private Label Industry Hall of Fame

March 27, 2023

Latest News

Featured

Father’s wisdom takes NM jeweler to fourth generation

March 31, 2023
Featured

75 years Young: Strong women always innovating

March 31, 2023
Featured

An Ocean Full of Diamonds

March 31, 2023

Other News

RDI Diamonds provides business solutions for independent jewelers

The Retailer’s Perspective: Just Say No! If You Can

The Story Behind the Stone: The Wonder of it All

JSA offers recommendations for what to do in a robbery

Ethical Metalsmiths announces launch of Grantorship Program

Jewelers Mutual® Group celebrates 110 years

Southern Jewelry News

© 2022 Southern Jewelry News.

Additional Information

  • About
  • 2023 Jewelry Trade Shows & Events
  • Media Kit
  • Contact
  • Sitemap
  • Newsletter Signup

Get Social with Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Featured Articles
    • Featured
    • Featured Retailers
    • Retailer Roundtable
    • Supplier Spotlight
    • Sponsored Content
  • Latest News
    • What’s New
    • Industry Events
    • Tradeshow News
    • On The Move
    • Other News
    • Furry Friends
  • Podcast
  • Columnists
  • Classifieds
  • Subscriptions
    • Newsletter Signup
    • Print Subscription

© 2022 Southern Jewelry News.