US economy perched on dangerous edge as workers & employers in vital industry defy oblivious trend

WASHINGTON: The US economy seems perched on a "dangerous edge" in an uncertain environment of rising interest rates, stubborn inflation and international strife and the path forward seems more uncertain than ever.

The vitality of the US economy seems perched on a dangerous edge in an uncertain macroeconomic environment.

The path forward for the US economy seems more uncertain than it has in some time, economists predict. Rising interest rates, stubborn inflation and international strife are weighing down the economy while strong employment numbers and a rising stock market counterbalance that effect, they said.

The US economy is a delicate balancing act, and the recent labor strife threatens to upset the whole apple cart, financial websites in the US say.

The UAW said around 8,700 members working at Ford's truck plant in Louisville, Ky., its biggest in the world, would walk off the job amid a failure to make progress in the union's on-going pay and pension's negotiations, creating more uncertainties.

The workers are demanding higher wages, cost of allowance living index, abolition of the two tier working system that discriminates new workers. More than 75,000 employees of Kaiser Permanente -- the largest healthcare operator in the country operating a hospital network with over 300,000 personnel across 39 hospitals -- walked off the job before they reached an agreement that ended the strike on Friday.

With their basic demands of job guarantees and no outsourcing still not settled, they threaten to resume the strike in November that could paralyse hospitals across the country. The year 2023 has been marked by historic strikes spread across the manufacturing sector, automobiles, health care, civil aviation and other sectors, media reports said Hollywood writers recently walked off the job, but returned to work after their demands for job guarantees and higher wages were met by studios.

But now Hollywood actors are also striking and studios announced this week that they've suspended contract negotiations.

However there was still some silver lining in the cloud as some good news came on the labour front after packaged food maker Hormel (HRL) - Get Free Report agreed to labour peace with union workers, avoiding a repetition of the notorious 1985-1986 Hormel labour strike whichlasted for over a year, considered one of the longest strikes in Minnesota history.