Employers who've been reeling from near double-digit health cost increases the past three years can expect more of the same in 2027, according to new projections from benefits consultant Aon. Why it matters: Companies and their workers are locked in one of the most sustained periods of health care inflation in decades — and the trend lines are sure to intensify affordability concerns. Driving the news: Rising demand for health services, more chronic disease and increased use of drugs like GLP-1s will help drive up employer health costs 9.5% next year — to more than $19,000 per employee, Aon said. - Workers this year are expected to pay an average of $5,297 for health coverage, counting payroll contributions and out-of-pocket…
Employers who've been reeling from near double-digit health cost increases the past three years can expect more of the same in 2027, according to new projections from benefits consultant Aon. Why it matters: Companies and their workers are locked in one of the most sustained periods of health care inflation in decades — and the trend lines are sure to intensify affordability concerns. Driving the news: Rising demand for health services, more chronic disease and increased use of drugs like GLP-1s will help drive up employer health costs 9.5% next year — to more than $19,000 per employee, Aon said. - Workers this year are expected to pay an average of $5,297 for health coverage, counting payroll contributions and out-of-pocket…Open
For years, America's economy has been defined by a "K-shaped" gap: The rich kept spending at a rapid pace, while everyone else struggled to keep up. - That divide is suddenly narrowing. Why it matters: Economists warned that consumer spending growth was increasingly reliant on wealthy Americans, leaving the economy vulnerable to a stock market downturn or any other wealth shock. - Importantly, the "K" appears to be closing from the bottom up, meaning that lower- and middle-income Americans are catching up, rather than affluent households pulling back. - That could put consumer spending on a more resilient footing. Zoom in: Bank of America is calling it the "great convergence." - The bank's data shows spending and wage growth among its…
For years, America's economy has been defined by a "K-shaped" gap: The rich kept spending at a rapid pace, while everyone else struggled to keep up. - That divide is suddenly narrowing. Why it matters: Economists warned that consumer spending growth was increasingly reliant on wealthy Americans, leaving the economy vulnerable to a stock market downturn or any other wealth shock. - Importantly, the "K" appears to be closing from the bottom up, meaning that lower- and middle-income Americans are catching up, rather than affluent households pulling back. - That could put consumer spending on a more resilient footing. Zoom in: Bank of America is calling it the "great convergence." - The bank's data shows spending and wage growth among its…Open
Americans feeling pinched financially are splurging on small treats while economic anxiety and inflation jitters put off larger purchases. Why it matters: From movie tickets to collectible watches , those affordable indulgences are helping sustain consumer spending . - The economy remains in what some economists call a "vibecession," where consumers feel relatively stable personally while pessimistic about the broader economy. - Consumers feel caught between a "combination of rising inflation, slowing after-tax real incomes, and rising credit card debt," Wayne Winegarden, a senior fellow in business and economics at Pacific Research Institute, tells Axios. - In a K-shaped economy, the wealthy can still indulge while lower-income…
Americans feeling pinched financially are splurging on small treats while economic anxiety and inflation jitters put off larger purchases. Why it matters: From movie tickets to collectible watches , those affordable indulgences are helping sustain consumer spending . - The economy remains in what some economists call a "vibecession," where consumers feel relatively stable personally while pessimistic about the broader economy. - Consumers feel caught between a "combination of rising inflation, slowing after-tax real incomes, and rising credit card debt," Wayne Winegarden, a senior fellow in business and economics at Pacific Research Institute, tells Axios. - In a K-shaped economy, the wealthy can still indulge while lower-income…Open
Data: Gallup; Chart: Avery Lotz/Axios Young Americans have a gloomier outlook on their job prospects than their older colleagues, creating a wider optimism gap than any other country surveyed by Gallup. The big picture: The very existence of that chasm between pessimistic younger Americans and more positive older people is itself an outlier, with double-digit gaps present only in five other places of the 141 polled. - Elsewhere, younger people are more positive, or the generations' sentiments are more aligned. - When President Trump and China's leader Xi Jinping meet this week to discuss the world's two largest economies, they'll already have one thing in common: Their young people are far more discouraged than their parents. By the…
Data: Gallup; Chart: Avery Lotz/Axios Young Americans have a gloomier outlook on their job prospects than their older colleagues, creating a wider optimism gap than any other country surveyed by Gallup. The big picture: The very existence of that chasm between pessimistic younger Americans and more positive older people is itself an outlier, with double-digit gaps present only in five other places of the 141 polled. - Elsewhere, younger people are more positive, or the generations' sentiments are more aligned. - When President Trump and China's leader Xi Jinping meet this week to discuss the world's two largest economies, they'll already have one thing in common: Their young people are far more discouraged than their parents. By the…Open
The U.S. economy started 2026 in a state of excellent balance: strong growth, a solid job market and subdued inflation . Just don't look too closely. The big picture: The key headline numbers in recent days — on jobs and inflation— appear as good as they have been in some time. Still, there are also warnings in the data that the story is not quite as rosy as headline numbers might suggest. - It's the Goldilocks economy — neither too hot nor too cold, so long as you don't focus on the details. Catch up quick: On the surface, the job market is humming . Employers added a healthy 130,000 jobs in January, the Labor Department said this week, as the unemployment rate edged down to 4.3%. - The caveat? That announcement came with…
The U.S. economy started 2026 in a state of excellent balance: strong growth, a solid job market and subdued inflation . Just don't look too closely. The big picture: The key headline numbers in recent days — on jobs and inflation— appear as good as they have been in some time. Still, there are also warnings in the data that the story is not quite as rosy as headline numbers might suggest. - It's the Goldilocks economy — neither too hot nor too cold, so long as you don't focus on the details. Catch up quick: On the surface, the job market is humming . Employers added a healthy 130,000 jobs in January, the Labor Department said this week, as the unemployment rate edged down to 4.3%. - The caveat? That announcement came with…Open
Data: Morning Consult; Chart: Axios Visuals There are signs that the so-called vibecession is back for 2026, but with a twist — it's the highest-earning Americans who feel more glum, as the faltering labor market for white-collar workers drives a bit of a doom loop. Why it matters: The U.S. economy increasingly runs on the spending power of the upper middle-class and wealthy, and if they're anxious that could affect everyone. Where it stands: Amazon's latest round of layoffs — 16,000 corporate jobs axed — is the latest piece of grim news for professionals who are growing antsy about the job market. - An increasing share of Americans are either reporting that they expect to lose pay or have already lost pay, per Morning Consult's…
Data: Morning Consult; Chart: Axios Visuals There are signs that the so-called vibecession is back for 2026, but with a twist — it's the highest-earning Americans who feel more glum, as the faltering labor market for white-collar workers drives a bit of a doom loop. Why it matters: The U.S. economy increasingly runs on the spending power of the upper middle-class and wealthy, and if they're anxious that could affect everyone. Where it stands: Amazon's latest round of layoffs — 16,000 corporate jobs axed — is the latest piece of grim news for professionals who are growing antsy about the job market. - An increasing share of Americans are either reporting that they expect to lose pay or have already lost pay, per Morning Consult's…Open