University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business Professor David Vang spoke to KSTP-TV about the increase in layoffs across Minnesota and how they may reflect broader trends in the economy.
From the story:
The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development has received 33 WARN notices from employers this year – already outpacing the total number of notices from all of last year. Many companies, like Teleflex in Maple Grove, are moving production elsewhere or downsizing.
University of St. Thomas finance professor David Vang attributed the uptick in layoffs to delayed impacts from the broader economic slowdown.
“This is kind of a lagged effect of the economy slowing down,” Vang said. “Some of the sectors that were not hit initially are now catching up to the rest.”
He explained that while large national trends like inflation, interest rate hikes, and cautious consumer spending have been evident for months, the consequences often take time to reach individual companies and industries.
“Businesses tend to hold off as long as they can,” Vang noted. “But eventually they have to adjust to rising costs and slower sales.”
Though Vang didn’t project a full-blown recession, he warned that the job market may remain unstable as economic uncertainty continues into the latter half of the year.
