Retail

The morning of President Trump’s 100th day in office brought fresh tariff melodrama with the coffee, eggs and toast, as a report emerged suggesting Amazon was considering listing the exact cost of a US tariff surcharge next to all goods purchased on the site. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt immediately snarled from the podium that this was a “hostile and political act,” though it was really neither hostile nor political. Regardless, Amazon immediately rolled it back, claiming the story had been misreported by Punchbowl News.  “The team that runs our ultra low-cost Amazon Haul store has considered listing import charges on certain products,” a spokesman said.

The Great Resignation continues, with a new study revealing that employees in many industries are quitting at higher rates than 2021. Accommodation and food services lost 5.8 percent of its workforce — 773,600 workers — in 2022, an increase of about 128,000 over the same period in 2021. Retail lost 3.82 percent, or about 600,000 workers, though this is 109,000 fewer than the same period in 2021. In third is the entertainment sector at 3.58 percent, accounting for 82,200 jobs, rising 7,000 compared to 2021. These industries happen to be where employees are in closest contact with customers — which would probably cause Cockburn to quit too, given how rude folks can be. Manufacturing and mining, by contrast, saw 2.42 and 2.3 percent respectively.

The coronavirus has devastated many small businesses. Historically, ownership offered a solid if not prosperous choice for many white males, particularly in the postwar period. You can see evidence of their successes on golf courses, in retirement communities and on cruise lines. While white men still dominate the business-owning class, other demographic groups have a strong small business presence, particularly in immigrant-rich cities like New York. These groups are especially vulnerable to the economic impact of the coronavirus lockdown.The black business community has expanded substantially in recent years. The latest comprehensive government statistics, from 2012, estimate that there was a one-third increase from the census of 2007.