WEBVTT - U.S. Hiring Downshifted Abruptly in August 0:00:01.800 --> 0:00:04.440 This is Bloomberg Business Week. I'm Carol Masser and I'm 0:00:04.480 --> 0:00:07.280 Bloomberg Quick Takes Tim Stanovik. We're here every day bringing 0:00:07.320 --> 0:00:09.840 you the latest news from the world to business and finance, 0:00:09.840 --> 0:00:13.640 plus technology, politics, economics, all furnishing the power of Business 0:00:13.680 --> 0:00:17.159 Week reporters and editors, not to mention our journalists and 0:00:17.160 --> 0:00:19.640 analyst in more than one and twenty countries. You can 0:00:19.640 --> 0:00:23.239 download Bloomberg Business Week and iTunes, SoundCloud, or Bloomberg dot com. 0:00:23.400 --> 0:00:25.200 You can also listen to our radio show at two 0:00:25.200 --> 0:00:27.760 pm Eastern Time on the Bloomberg Radio or watch us 0:00:27.760 --> 0:00:33.200 on YouTube. Searched Bloomberg clovel News today's jobs report showing 0:00:33.200 --> 0:00:36.120 that US hiring down shifted abruptly in August, with the 0:00:36.240 --> 0:00:39.400 smallest jobs gained in seven months. As Charlie mentioned, it 0:00:39.400 --> 0:00:42.560 complicates a potential decision by the Federal Reserve to begin 0:00:42.640 --> 0:00:46.440 scaling back monetary policy support by year end. The number 0:00:46.440 --> 0:00:49.120 we got today non farm payrolls increasing two d and 0:00:49.120 --> 0:00:53.760 thirty five thousand last month. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg they 0:00:53.760 --> 0:00:56.240 wanted to see something more in line with seven hundred 0:00:56.240 --> 0:00:59.680 and thirty five thousand, so a big miss there. Let's 0:00:59.720 --> 0:01:01.800 get in to it with Becky franco Witz, president of 0:01:01.800 --> 0:01:04.319 Manpower Group in North America. She joins us as she 0:01:04.440 --> 0:01:07.759 does many jobs days on the phone from Chicago. Becky, 0:01:08.080 --> 0:01:10.440 Really great to have you back on the show. Is 0:01:10.440 --> 0:01:14.320 there any silver lining to this job's report today? Yeah, Tim, 0:01:14.400 --> 0:01:17.640 so definitely not a report anyone wanted to see. Um. 0:01:17.680 --> 0:01:20.160 I would tell you that I'd characterize August is a 0:01:20.200 --> 0:01:23.240 report of dashed hopes on both sides of the labor 0:01:23.800 --> 0:01:27.640 you know, environment. UM employers were hoping for the September 0:01:27.640 --> 0:01:31.000 sunrise that we've spoken about before with increased labor supply 0:01:31.080 --> 0:01:34.400 and recovery of supply chains, you know in delta dash 0:01:34.480 --> 0:01:37.160 fat and workers were hoping for the smooth transition, you know, 0:01:37.240 --> 0:01:40.440 sending kids off to school, returning to work without fear 0:01:40.480 --> 0:01:44.000 of of you know, COVID. That's been dashed too, UM. 0:01:44.080 --> 0:01:46.720 But I will tell you that we believe the situation 0:01:46.760 --> 0:01:48.960 is temporary, and I have real time data that tells 0:01:49.040 --> 0:01:51.559 us why. Well, let's hear about that real time data. 0:01:51.680 --> 0:01:54.840 What does the future look like? Yeah, so hi, Katie. Um, 0:01:54.920 --> 0:01:56.800 you know, we know we still know where in a 0:01:56.840 --> 0:01:59.720 worker's market and here's why. There are ten point one 0:02:00.080 --> 0:02:03.720 million open jobs, so jobs unfilled in our country today. 0:02:03.920 --> 0:02:08.320 Demand remains right now above pre pandemic levels, and unemployment 0:02:08.360 --> 0:02:11.320 continues to decline, So that that is a silver lining, 0:02:11.400 --> 0:02:14.080 Tim's your question. And we also know, and this is 0:02:14.120 --> 0:02:16.200 some new data, we know that the talent shortage is 0:02:16.320 --> 0:02:19.880 especially acute in blue collar rolls. So let's just step 0:02:19.880 --> 0:02:22.320 back and say, you know, in the past year, UM 0:02:22.360 --> 0:02:25.000 demand for knowledge workers so think medical, you know, I 0:02:25.160 --> 0:02:28.280 T space, that demand is increased four and you're you're 0:02:28.320 --> 0:02:30.760 thinking that's a pretty good number. Yet demand for blue 0:02:30.800 --> 0:02:35.520 collar jobs is increased with a fifty percent rise in 0:02:35.639 --> 0:02:39.520 operations logistics alone, as the shift online is here to stay. 0:02:39.600 --> 0:02:43.440 So you know, we anticipate hiring spikes and ops logistics 0:02:43.480 --> 0:02:46.160 retail as we prepare for the holiday period. So that 0:02:46.360 --> 0:02:49.720 is the silver lining. Um. But this job's report in August, 0:02:49.800 --> 0:02:52.440 you know, ahead of the stimulus stoppages we go into September. 0:02:52.720 --> 0:02:54.160 You know, it was a disappointing one. There's no way 0:02:54.200 --> 0:02:57.239 around it. There is, though, still this mismatch between supply 0:02:57.280 --> 0:02:59.400 and demand demand. If there are ten point one million 0:02:59.480 --> 0:03:02.640 open jobs and still millions of people who are on 0:03:02.639 --> 0:03:06.000 the sidelines working looking for work, right now, why aren't 0:03:06.000 --> 0:03:09.520 they hopping off the sidelines. Yeah, so it's it's unfortunately complicated. 0:03:09.600 --> 0:03:12.040 So you know, part of it definitely is stimulus, but 0:03:12.080 --> 0:03:15.000 that can't answer everything. There is fear, you know, rising 0:03:15.040 --> 0:03:18.440 fear now around you, health safety in the workplace, and 0:03:18.520 --> 0:03:21.200 there's complications that you know, some schools are opening, schools 0:03:21.200 --> 0:03:23.200 are constantly threatening or we're gonna go hybrid or not 0:03:23.280 --> 0:03:26.400 go hybrid um. So it's really an uncertain time personally 0:03:26.520 --> 0:03:29.360 and professionally for workers in our country, and and they 0:03:29.440 --> 0:03:31.359 are still fitting on the sidelines. And again, what's so 0:03:31.520 --> 0:03:34.840 disappointing is we all hoped and wanted to believe that 0:03:34.960 --> 0:03:36.640 we would be past this as we went back into 0:03:36.640 --> 0:03:38.600 the back to school season, but we're not quite out 0:03:38.640 --> 0:03:41.240 of the woods yet. Yeah. It's definitely not the start 0:03:41.320 --> 0:03:45.320 to September that I think many companies and just people expected. 0:03:45.360 --> 0:03:47.160 But Becky, I want to pick up on your point 0:03:47.200 --> 0:03:51.200 on stimulus, because we do have those enhanced unemployment benefits 0:03:51.200 --> 0:03:53.760 starting to roll off next week, and like you said, 0:03:53.800 --> 0:03:57.360 there's still ten point one million jobs unfilled. I'm curious 0:03:57.400 --> 0:03:59.600 what you think that the end of those sorts of 0:03:59.680 --> 0:04:03.040 pro ms could mean for the labor market and jobs 0:04:03.120 --> 0:04:06.440 reports going forward. Yeah, so we've been tracking at state 0:04:06.520 --> 0:04:08.760 by state Katie, as the as the stimulus has ended, 0:04:08.840 --> 0:04:11.320 and what we found is it's very uneven. So in 0:04:11.480 --> 0:04:14.120 some states, you know, especially in states in the South, 0:04:14.280 --> 0:04:17.000 where when stimulus came in it didn't have as big 0:04:17.080 --> 0:04:19.400 of a dampening effect, we didn't see as big of 0:04:19.480 --> 0:04:22.320 a recovery effect when the stimulus came off. Um. In 0:04:22.440 --> 0:04:24.640 other states, we're just starting to see it roll off. Now. 0:04:24.720 --> 0:04:26.880 We have seen some positive momentum come out of a 0:04:26.920 --> 0:04:29.200 couple of the states since the stimulus stops. But I 0:04:29.279 --> 0:04:32.000 can tell you one thing, no matter what the state does, Um, 0:04:32.120 --> 0:04:34.560 this is not stopping stimulus is not going to have 0:04:34.800 --> 0:04:37.240 the you know, solve effect that we all wanted it 0:04:37.279 --> 0:04:38.920 to have. We're going to have to make sure that 0:04:39.000 --> 0:04:42.000 workers feel safe, they feel valued, they can trust their 0:04:42.000 --> 0:04:44.800 employers to send people home they're sick um that are 0:04:44.800 --> 0:04:47.040 around them, and that really is becoming. You know, This 0:04:47.160 --> 0:04:50.240 trust and care economy is truly the way forward for 0:04:50.279 --> 0:04:54.040 the American worker. Becky Manpower Group is the world's third 0:04:54.240 --> 0:04:56.720 largest staffing firm, so you do have a really good 0:04:56.800 --> 0:04:59.320 understanding of what is happening in different areas of the 0:04:59.400 --> 0:05:01.400 world when it comes to people going back to work 0:05:01.520 --> 0:05:03.680 or what they want at a at a at a firm. 0:05:04.000 --> 0:05:05.400 What are you seeing in terms of the return to 0:05:05.440 --> 0:05:08.520 the office, especially among large Wall Street banks and financial 0:05:08.560 --> 0:05:11.560 services firms. Yeah, so it's quite interesting. We just did 0:05:11.600 --> 0:05:15.640 a big fourteen thousand people's survey in fourteen countries to 0:05:15.720 --> 0:05:18.560 your to your question, Tim, and what we found is 0:05:18.680 --> 0:05:22.680 really generationally demographically, we're seeing some differences. So if you say, 0:05:22.720 --> 0:05:24.880 who's most excited to come back in the office, gen z, 0:05:25.400 --> 0:05:27.920 they're fresh out of college, they're looking to make their friends. 0:05:28.000 --> 0:05:30.719 It's where they find their dating pool. Like they're they're learning, 0:05:30.760 --> 0:05:33.640 they're excited to be back in the office. Who's least excited, 0:05:33.680 --> 0:05:36.440 and this is global data. Millennials. You know, millennials are 0:05:36.520 --> 0:05:39.640 of childbearing, you know, child raising years. They're very they're 0:05:39.760 --> 0:05:42.760 very concerned about their children getting the virus now, which 0:05:42.760 --> 0:05:44.960 you know a year ago we were saying kids aren't 0:05:44.960 --> 0:05:47.120 really susceptible. That's okay, So now we know that that 0:05:47.240 --> 0:05:50.240 was inaccurate, and so there's concerned there. I'm also excited 0:05:50.240 --> 0:05:52.280 to come back in the workplace. Our our gen X 0:05:52.360 --> 0:05:54.880 and our boomers and think about who's running the world, 0:05:55.400 --> 0:05:57.320 you know, companies right now it is the gen X 0:05:57.360 --> 0:06:00.760 and boomers, and so we see really varied interest about 0:06:00.839 --> 0:06:04.240 coming back into the workplace. Now from a vaccination perspective, 0:06:04.320 --> 0:06:07.360 you know that is giving some employees some confidence, particularly 0:06:07.480 --> 0:06:10.800 as headquarters for rolling out vaccinations um. But still, you know, 0:06:10.880 --> 0:06:13.240 it's it's very uneven in terms of the excitement of 0:06:13.320 --> 0:06:15.880 coming back in the office every day the week. Becky Frankowitz, 0:06:15.920 --> 0:06:18.440 President at Manpower Group North America, joining us on the 0:06:18.520 --> 0:06:21.240 phone from Chicago on this job's Friday. Becky, thank you 0:06:21.279 --> 0:06:24.080 so much for taking the time. We really appreciate it. 0:06:24.600 --> 0:06:28.599 This is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer and Bloomberg 0:06:28.680 --> 0:06:32.919 Quick Takes Tim Stinovic from Bloomberg Radio. Well. Senate Democrats 0:06:32.960 --> 0:06:36.040 are discussing a wider range of tax proposals than President 0:06:36.120 --> 0:06:39.680 Joe Biden has proposed. This could include levies on stock buybacks, 0:06:39.720 --> 0:06:42.880 carbon emissions, and even executive compensation. This as part of 0:06:42.960 --> 0:06:45.520 a package of measures to help fund a ramping up 0:06:45.560 --> 0:06:49.080 in a social spending so writes Stephen at T Dennis. 0:06:49.200 --> 0:06:51.760 He is Senate reporter for Bloomberg News, and he joins 0:06:51.800 --> 0:06:54.840 us now on the phone from Washington at d C. Stephen, 0:06:54.880 --> 0:06:57.480 it's really great to have you on the show this afternoon. 0:06:57.520 --> 0:06:59.840 Who are the Senate Democrats who are who are doing this? 0:07:00.000 --> 0:07:03.880 Because we know that not all Democrats feel the same 0:07:04.279 --> 0:07:07.719 when it comes to taxation. Yeah, so basically the first 0:07:07.760 --> 0:07:09.160 thing they need to do is to get the Senate 0:07:09.200 --> 0:07:12.760 Finance Committee Democrats on board. And this is what's circulating 0:07:12.880 --> 0:07:16.680 among those Senate Finance Committee Democrats. They have yet to 0:07:16.800 --> 0:07:20.640 settle on a particular plan amongst themselves, but we do 0:07:20.880 --> 0:07:25.760 basically have the menu. You know, you're either you're either 0:07:25.800 --> 0:07:27.800 a lunch or you're on the menu or something or other. 0:07:27.920 --> 0:07:30.200 Even that's the old thing. Uh, this is this is 0:07:30.280 --> 0:07:33.280 the menu of who's gonna who's gonna make it to 0:07:33.360 --> 0:07:36.200 the lunch and who's gonna get eaten? And uh and 0:07:36.560 --> 0:07:38.920 so you have all kinds of things that would potentially 0:07:39.000 --> 0:07:41.920 affect a lot of stocks, a lot of markets. You know, 0:07:42.040 --> 0:07:44.640 if you start saying, well, stock buybacks should be tax 0:07:44.800 --> 0:07:48.560 just like dividends, or have an excise tax on stock buybacks, 0:07:48.640 --> 0:07:52.440 that would be a huge deal. Uh, supersized CEO pay 0:07:53.160 --> 0:07:56.280 you know they're they're they're talking about having an excise 0:07:56.400 --> 0:08:00.120 tax on CEO pay that exceeds the average worker at 0:08:00.160 --> 0:08:04.200 that company by a margin they considered to be too high. Uh, 0:08:04.320 --> 0:08:07.320 and even things like mark to market rules for billionaires 0:08:07.520 --> 0:08:11.680 with large unrealized cap gains, which would be a big 0:08:11.800 --> 0:08:16.200 tax on a lot of entrepreneurs like Elon Musk or 0:08:16.320 --> 0:08:21.080 Jeff Bezos who have very large amounts of unrealized capital gains. 0:08:22.200 --> 0:08:25.400 And so yeah, the implications widespread. I mean, just this year, 0:08:25.440 --> 0:08:28.440 we've already seen about three hundred and sixty billion worth 0:08:28.600 --> 0:08:31.560 of buy back. So Stephen, I'm curious does this have 0:08:31.720 --> 0:08:33.839 a shot of passing. I mean, like you said, you 0:08:33.920 --> 0:08:37.319 have to get the Senate Finance Committee Democrats on board. 0:08:37.679 --> 0:08:42.240 How likely is that to happen? I think basically any 0:08:42.320 --> 0:08:46.040 one of these proposals is going to have a hard road. 0:08:46.600 --> 0:08:48.880 You know, right now, Joe Mansion wants to press the 0:08:48.920 --> 0:08:50.920 pause button on the whole thing, and he wants a 0:08:51.040 --> 0:08:56.200 much smaller package. Um. He's also, however, taken aim at 0:08:56.320 --> 0:09:00.719 some of the more traditional tax increases that Joe Biden's proposed, Like, 0:09:01.240 --> 0:09:03.439 you know, he doesn't want to go to on the 0:09:03.520 --> 0:09:06.719 corporate tax rate. By He's talked about five percent of 0:09:06.760 --> 0:09:09.680 the corporate tax rate. Well, if you lose several hundred 0:09:09.720 --> 0:09:13.559 billion dollars there, you might be able to make it 0:09:13.640 --> 0:09:16.000 up somewhere else. And the question is whether Joe By, 0:09:16.360 --> 0:09:20.599 whether Joe Manchin would stand in the way of some 0:09:20.800 --> 0:09:23.400 of these things. Now, certainly, I think you're gonna have 0:09:23.480 --> 0:09:27.040 a hard time getting fifty Senate votes for some kind 0:09:27.080 --> 0:09:30.440 of a carbon tax, even if it turns into rebates 0:09:30.559 --> 0:09:35.480 for lower income folks. Uh, taxing plastic. You know, I 0:09:35.559 --> 0:09:38.000 could see some Democrats supporting that. That might be a 0:09:38.160 --> 0:09:42.040 harder sell even with the White House. Um and uh. 0:09:42.160 --> 0:09:44.480 But there are these things that seem to be relatively 0:09:44.800 --> 0:09:48.320 low hanging fruit, like these supersized i ra s. There 0:09:48.360 --> 0:09:50.840 are some people with tens of millions of dollars they've 0:09:50.840 --> 0:09:54.120 accumulated in their iras, and you could just say, well, 0:09:54.320 --> 0:09:57.280 we're gonna cap those at five million, and anything over 0:09:57.360 --> 0:10:00.520 that you have to have a distribution and pay taxes 0:10:00.600 --> 0:10:03.040 on it. So some of these things I think could 0:10:03.160 --> 0:10:05.880 very well end up in the package and are a 0:10:05.960 --> 0:10:08.160 little bit more likely to happen than others. We should 0:10:08.200 --> 0:10:11.160 note that even today, when the President was speaking after 0:10:11.280 --> 0:10:14.040 that dismal jobs report came out, he did once again 0:10:14.200 --> 0:10:17.319 repeat the line that he will not raise taxes on 0:10:17.400 --> 0:10:20.000 people who make less than four hundred thousand dollars a year. 0:10:20.040 --> 0:10:22.839 It's something that he continues to uh to talk about, 0:10:22.960 --> 0:10:25.400 what what do the Democrats who are proposing these um 0:10:25.559 --> 0:10:28.640 want this money to pay for? Yeah, so there's you know, 0:10:28.760 --> 0:10:31.679 there's three hundred three point five trillion dollar package of 0:10:32.559 --> 0:10:38.720 social spending um everything from childcare benefits to free community college, 0:10:39.000 --> 0:10:45.719 to expanding Medicare benefits for dental and vision and hearing um. 0:10:46.240 --> 0:10:49.360 There's there's just an enormous array of things that have 0:10:49.480 --> 0:10:52.600 been building up, frankly for decades that Democrats have wanted, 0:10:53.520 --> 0:10:56.319 as well as things like paid sick leave and paid 0:10:56.440 --> 0:11:00.680 family leave and maternity leave and all these things. Well, 0:11:01.000 --> 0:11:04.640 that bill cobbles out to about three point five trillion 0:11:04.679 --> 0:11:07.280 over ten years, which is about a five percent increase 0:11:07.320 --> 0:11:11.080 in federal spending. And you're gonna have to find money 0:11:11.160 --> 0:11:14.240 to pay for it. And it gets if your universe 0:11:14.559 --> 0:11:16.560 of who has to pay for it is people making 0:11:16.600 --> 0:11:19.680 more than four dollars a year. That's not a lot 0:11:19.760 --> 0:11:21.920 of people, but that is a lot of money. And 0:11:22.520 --> 0:11:24.439 you know, I think it's going to be very challenging 0:11:24.520 --> 0:11:27.080 to get it through because those people with the biggest 0:11:27.080 --> 0:11:29.880 pockets on earth can afford a lot of good lobbyists. 0:11:30.040 --> 0:11:32.040 And guess what, a lot of those people are voting 0:11:32.080 --> 0:11:35.400 members of Congress. Steven Dennis, Senate reporter at Bloomberg News, 0:11:35.480 --> 0:11:38.280 running us on the phone from Washington, d C. Steven, 0:11:38.320 --> 0:11:39.880 thank you so much for it taking the time. We 0:11:39.960 --> 0:11:42.240 really appreciate it. Check out his story on the Bloomberg 0:11:42.280 --> 0:11:45.160 Terminal Senate Democrats, I taxes on stock buybacks and excess 0:11:45.280 --> 0:11:49.440 CEO pay. You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol 0:11:49.480 --> 0:11:53.920 Messer and Bloomberg Quick Takes Tim Stinovic on Bloomberg Radio. 0:11:54.920 --> 0:11:58.959 This is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer and Bloomberg 0:11:59.040 --> 0:12:03.199 Quick Takes tim's Stenovic on Bloomberg Radio. Well. In the 0:12:03.320 --> 0:12:07.240 current issue of Bloomberg business Week, it's the New City's issue. 0:12:07.520 --> 0:12:10.679 It's Bloomberg business Week magazine. It's available on newsstands and 0:12:10.840 --> 0:12:14.280 at Bloomberg dot com slash business Week. It's an issue 0:12:14.280 --> 0:12:16.280 that is focused on cities in one city that it 0:12:16.320 --> 0:12:18.880 does take a very close look at in an area 0:12:18.920 --> 0:12:21.720 of the city is Seattle, and a Seattle commercial district 0:12:22.040 --> 0:12:25.520 that has undergone trial by virus. The pandemic change the 0:12:25.600 --> 0:12:28.520 heartbeat of urban areas across the US, few more so 0:12:28.800 --> 0:12:32.520 than the Pike Pine Corridor of Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. 0:12:32.640 --> 0:12:35.920 So writes Noah bou Hire, finance reporter for Bloomberg News, 0:12:35.960 --> 0:12:39.040 and he joins us now on the phone from Seattle, Noah, 0:12:39.120 --> 0:12:41.800 for people who haven't been to Seattle or visited this 0:12:41.880 --> 0:12:45.920 particular area of Seattle, the Pike Pine Corridor of Capitol Hill, 0:12:46.360 --> 0:12:50.559 what's it like? Well, it's um, I think what a 0:12:50.600 --> 0:12:54.560 lot of people would imagine as a Biberne at all hours, 0:12:55.440 --> 0:13:02.079 retail arts, commercial district. There's music venues on a restaurant. UM. 0:13:02.440 --> 0:13:05.720 It's not uh, giant buildings, but you've got a lot 0:13:05.800 --> 0:13:10.360 of you know, for six seven eight story UM apartment 0:13:10.400 --> 0:13:13.079 blocks that have retail at the ground floor. So it 0:13:13.240 --> 0:13:16.080 was really the part of Seattle that that that felt 0:13:16.440 --> 0:13:20.480 most city like outside of UM downtown. And what happened 0:13:20.520 --> 0:13:22.520 over the last year is the pandemic took hold and 0:13:22.600 --> 0:13:25.280 commuters started staying home and not going to those restaurants. 0:13:25.400 --> 0:13:27.599 And and then just a few months later, in the 0:13:27.840 --> 0:13:31.680 aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, UM activists took 0:13:31.720 --> 0:13:36.160 to the streets there to demand racial justice. Yeah. So look, 0:13:36.240 --> 0:13:39.400 it was an interesting UM neighborhood to follow for all 0:13:39.440 --> 0:13:43.200 those reasons you just mentioned. UM. You know, a lot 0:13:43.280 --> 0:13:48.160 of the businesses in in this corridor UH were the 0:13:48.280 --> 0:13:50.720 kinds of places that you know, relied on a vibrant 0:13:50.920 --> 0:13:53.600 street life and and and people being able to get together. 0:13:53.960 --> 0:13:58.640 And obviously the pandemic UM made that difficult. And UM, 0:13:58.760 --> 0:14:00.760 the other thing that was interesting about this neighborhood is 0:14:00.840 --> 0:14:05.119 that there are just a ton of UM, smaller businesses. 0:14:05.280 --> 0:14:09.000 So you know, uh, Amazon has one of their Grocery 0:14:09.040 --> 0:14:13.760 Stories stores there. There's a Starbucks reserve roster in the neighborhood, 0:14:13.800 --> 0:14:16.240 so there's some corporate presence, but there were also a 0:14:16.320 --> 0:14:20.120 lot of small, uh scrappy businesses that just had to 0:14:20.200 --> 0:14:24.480 figure it out. UM. And UH you know, with this piece, 0:14:24.600 --> 0:14:28.280 I I followed UM a number of them uh through 0:14:28.320 --> 0:14:31.120 the last year and a half to figure out how 0:14:31.160 --> 0:14:33.760 they did it. Because while you know a number of 0:14:33.840 --> 0:14:39.360 businesses did UM go under during the pandemic, UM, a 0:14:39.520 --> 0:14:43.720 lot managed to get to this point uh through UM 0:14:44.800 --> 0:14:51.880 the generosity of customers, through UM government assistance programs, and 0:14:52.040 --> 0:14:56.600 just a lot of scrappiness that I don't think um 0:14:57.360 --> 0:15:01.280 uh people have fully appreciated. And so No, it's a 0:15:01.360 --> 0:15:03.520 great piece. And one of the reasons why it's such 0:15:03.560 --> 0:15:05.640 a good read is because you did track a group 0:15:05.720 --> 0:15:07.800 of four businesses over the past year and a half. 0:15:07.920 --> 0:15:10.920 And I'm curious. You know, you mentioned the scrappiness of 0:15:11.160 --> 0:15:14.000 the businesses and the business owners, but I'm curious if 0:15:14.080 --> 0:15:18.080 there was a uniting common denominator and how they were 0:15:18.280 --> 0:15:22.440 all able to get through the pandemic. Yeah, that's a 0:15:22.520 --> 0:15:24.800 great question. UM I I really think it is the 0:15:24.840 --> 0:15:28.840 constellation of factors. It was. It was you know, these 0:15:29.080 --> 0:15:33.600 these were established businesses with with loyal customers and UM 0:15:33.880 --> 0:15:36.640 you know, to the extent UH some of them were 0:15:36.640 --> 0:15:39.600 able to do go fund means government assistance, which is 0:15:39.680 --> 0:15:44.240 absolutely key UH programs like the Paycheck Protection Program. Pretty 0:15:44.280 --> 0:15:47.120 much everyone took that money. UM. It was either a 0:15:47.200 --> 0:15:51.960 form of bridge financing or um uh to get them 0:15:52.040 --> 0:15:56.000 to other federal grants or UM or or it was 0:15:56.040 --> 0:15:59.040 the thing itself that that helped get them through UM. 0:15:59.240 --> 0:16:03.040 And then you know, I think another uh under appreciated 0:16:03.120 --> 0:16:05.200 part of this is that, UM we're talking about a 0:16:05.240 --> 0:16:07.160 city where a lot of people have been willing to 0:16:07.160 --> 0:16:10.800 get vaccinated. And even though we've had pretty strong, UM 0:16:10.960 --> 0:16:16.119 strong public health restrictions here in Washington State throughout the pandemic, 0:16:16.720 --> 0:16:19.560 UM people were willing to go back to this neighborhood 0:16:19.600 --> 0:16:22.840 when when those things lifted, because we're talking about a 0:16:22.920 --> 0:16:27.360 city where, you know, seventy five more than seventy of 0:16:27.840 --> 0:16:32.920 UH people twelve and up have have gotten their jobs. Well, 0:16:33.240 --> 0:16:36.320 it's interesting because one of the one of the elements 0:16:36.360 --> 0:16:38.160 of this that really sticks out to me, that really 0:16:38.160 --> 0:16:41.960 caught my attention is the graphical representation of the change 0:16:42.000 --> 0:16:45.480 in weekly visits from nine that are in here charts 0:16:45.560 --> 0:16:49.200 that just show how foot traffic has not returned to 0:16:49.600 --> 0:16:55.480 retail establishments there too, restaurants there even after the vaccine rollout, 0:16:55.600 --> 0:16:59.960 to music venues for example, in some cases restaurant visits 0:17:00.000 --> 0:17:05.320 they're still down even after vaccinations from How are these 0:17:05.359 --> 0:17:08.600 business owners dealing with that? Yeah, that's a that's a 0:17:08.640 --> 0:17:10.359 great question. I do. I do want to highlight that 0:17:10.480 --> 0:17:12.720 the data here is really interesting. We were able to 0:17:12.880 --> 0:17:16.960 get UM foot traffic data on about fifty locations around 0:17:17.040 --> 0:17:20.200 this neighborhood. Most of them were you know, commercial establishments 0:17:20.400 --> 0:17:24.200 and UM I think that data really does show you, 0:17:24.560 --> 0:17:28.040 like you said, that things are a far are far, 0:17:28.160 --> 0:17:31.280 far far from being back to normal. Um. And the 0:17:31.400 --> 0:17:34.639 reason these businesses are still you know, any of these 0:17:34.680 --> 0:17:36.639 owners will tell you things are not back to normal. 0:17:36.800 --> 0:17:39.840 I mean they are. They are still very much in 0:17:39.920 --> 0:17:42.320 the thick of this and we're you know, going into 0:17:42.359 --> 0:17:45.119 the fall when things like outdoor dining are going to 0:17:45.200 --> 0:17:47.840 be harder to do and frankly in Seattle just not 0:17:48.200 --> 0:17:52.600 comfortable because it rains so much here. So I think 0:17:52.640 --> 0:17:54.840 that's a big part of this part of this story 0:17:55.040 --> 0:17:58.640 is that these businesses have been resilient, but they are 0:17:58.960 --> 0:18:01.000 by no means, you know, out of the woods yet 0:18:01.720 --> 0:18:03.359 and so no. One of the stats that caught my 0:18:03.400 --> 0:18:06.359 eyes in the story is that the medium income in 0:18:06.400 --> 0:18:09.840 the city is over one hundred thousand dollars, which, as 0:18:09.920 --> 0:18:12.840 you note, is more than fifty percent higher than the 0:18:13.000 --> 0:18:17.280 national average. I'm curious how important was that factor in 0:18:17.480 --> 0:18:22.160 explaining the resiliency of some of these businesses. I don't 0:18:22.200 --> 0:18:25.680 think it can be understated. Um. Look, there are academics 0:18:25.800 --> 0:18:29.879 who you know, started studying the pandemics effect on small 0:18:29.960 --> 0:18:35.399 business and um, you know, while the lens of of 0:18:35.520 --> 0:18:39.200 this story is one particular neighborhood. What I can say 0:18:39.280 --> 0:18:45.320 is anecdotally, UM, having customers and people who like your 0:18:45.359 --> 0:18:48.680 businesses and supported them, and who were willing to come 0:18:48.760 --> 0:18:51.640 in and spend more money, and who you know, maybe 0:18:51.720 --> 0:18:56.480 kept their jobs throughout the pandemic has just been crucial. Um. 0:18:57.080 --> 0:19:01.320 You know, two of these businesses had had fundraisers and 0:19:01.400 --> 0:19:04.240 they raised tens of thousands of dollars and that was 0:19:04.359 --> 0:19:09.360 just um, completely instrumental to them, you know, being able 0:19:09.400 --> 0:19:11.960 to survive to this point. Yeah, not something that would 0:19:12.080 --> 0:19:14.920 necessarily be possible in other parts of the country where 0:19:14.960 --> 0:19:18.080 the clientele who frequent these places don't have these same 0:19:18.400 --> 0:19:21.479 household incomes and wouldn't necessarily be able to afford, at 0:19:21.560 --> 0:19:24.080 least during a pandemic and during a time of uncertainty, 0:19:24.520 --> 0:19:27.760 to throw money and support throw money at these businesses 0:19:27.800 --> 0:19:30.800 and support them even in difficult times. Noah bou Hire 0:19:30.920 --> 0:19:33.440 is finance reporter for Bloomberg News. Noah, thank you so 0:19:33.600 --> 0:19:37.000 much for joining us. The story is a Seattle Commercial 0:19:37.119 --> 0:19:40.560 Districts trial by virus. Bloomberg tract a group of businesses 0:19:40.840 --> 0:19:42.720 in the Capitol Hill neighborhood for a year and a 0:19:42.760 --> 0:19:45.800 half and were amazed by their resilience. Check it out. 0:19:46.400 --> 0:19:48.560 It's featured in the New City's issue of Bloomberg Business 0:19:48.560 --> 0:19:51.600 Week magazine. It's available on newsstands and at Bloomberg dot 0:19:51.640 --> 0:19:55.600 com slash business Week. You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week 0:19:55.840 --> 0:19:59.720 with Carol Messer and Bloomberg Quick Takes Tim Stinovic on 0:20:00.000 --> 0:20:04.920 Bloomberg Radio. We cannot, Katie Graidfeld, talk enough about crypto. 0:20:05.320 --> 0:20:07.760 Share a bitcoin, I almost said, shares a bitcoin bitcoin 0:20:07.880 --> 0:20:10.840 price higher by eight hundred and thirty four dollars right now. 0:20:10.960 --> 0:20:14.720 That's trading at fifty dollars three hundred and eighty three 0:20:15.280 --> 0:20:19.480 right now. David Knitski is chief executive officer at Kracking Bank. 0:20:19.720 --> 0:20:22.760 Cracking Bank is one of the largest crypto exchanges, with 0:20:23.160 --> 0:20:26.399 over eight million users world ride. They've had approximately one 0:20:26.440 --> 0:20:28.680 point five million new sign ups over the course of 0:20:28.760 --> 0:20:31.840 the second quarter of one. That is why I'm saying 0:20:31.840 --> 0:20:34.840 we cannot talk enough about crypto. David, thanks so much 0:20:34.840 --> 0:20:37.720 for joining us. You were joining us live from Cheyenne, Wyoming, 0:20:38.080 --> 0:20:40.080 where you are based. Katie and I were both talking 0:20:40.160 --> 0:20:46.200 during the breaking We said, Wyoming, Why Wyoming? Tell us why? Yeah? Well, 0:20:46.560 --> 0:20:50.760 Wyoming A pass the first of its kind new regulatory 0:20:51.400 --> 0:20:56.200 license here for a special special purpose depository institution. It's 0:20:56.200 --> 0:20:59.159 a state chartered bank. Uh. And up until now, crypto 0:20:59.240 --> 0:21:03.400 companies have really been round peg square hold into existing 0:21:03.480 --> 0:21:05.840 licenses and regimes that didn't make a ton of sense. 0:21:06.119 --> 0:21:09.479 And we're kind of locked out of the existing banking world. UH. 0:21:09.560 --> 0:21:11.639 So for that reason, we'll bring in the US business 0:21:11.760 --> 0:21:15.840 under a more certain, more formal, and better regulatory regime, 0:21:16.080 --> 0:21:19.360 as well as expanding into new opportunities, new products and markets. 0:21:19.840 --> 0:21:23.080 As you see, everything's converging between crypto, neo bank, spintech, 0:21:23.440 --> 0:21:25.280 traditional and so were we want to be at the 0:21:25.320 --> 0:21:29.160 heart of that market. But you do call yourself a bank, Yeah, 0:21:29.200 --> 0:21:32.480 we are. We are state chartered bank. And so Wyoming 0:21:32.600 --> 0:21:36.879 is interesting obviously has positioned itself to be a crypto hotbed. 0:21:37.600 --> 0:21:41.240 Where does that stand with the rest of the United States? 0:21:41.320 --> 0:21:45.200 Are other states uh moving towards Wyoming? Or is Wyoming 0:21:45.320 --> 0:21:49.359 really an outlier at this point? Wyoming definitely got the 0:21:49.400 --> 0:21:52.560 ball started, but the ball rolling. But a number of 0:21:52.640 --> 0:21:56.160 states have let's say, borrowed liberally from the Wyoming playbook 0:21:56.359 --> 0:21:59.639 and enacted their own version of a similar charter. UH 0:21:59.720 --> 0:22:02.879 And it's provoking federal regulators to take action as well. 0:22:02.960 --> 0:22:05.840 That's kind of the beauty of our republic and our 0:22:05.920 --> 0:22:08.760 system here where states can be uh the laboratories of 0:22:08.800 --> 0:22:12.680 innovation and push things forward faster than the federal government have. 0:22:12.880 --> 0:22:15.000 So it's really been a spark that's moved the whole 0:22:15.040 --> 0:22:17.680