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The following chart shows annual food services and drinking places employment growth.


Click to enlarge.

3.7% annual growth! Very impressive. Each time we get a recession (the deeper the recession the better), we get more growth. More recessions for the win! Genius!

We just need to stay in that strong, resilient, predictable, and consistent trend channel long-term, preferably near the top. The long-term trend is so obvious that I don't even feel the need to add a trend line. Did I mention how stable and sustainable the channel is? Just look at it! A few more years of this and it will be almost impossible to leave the channel no matter what happens. Who doesn't love certainty?

The annual data in the first chart doesn't include 2014 yet, but I can give you a glimpse of how the year is starting off using monthly data.


Click to enlarge.

There are a whopping 10.5 million people employed in this rapidly growing industry. Growth appears to have peaked back in July. As of January, the growth is still above 3% though and there's nothing but biscuits and gravy on the horizon! Can't you see it? And with average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory workers in this industry coming in at $10.96 (December 2013), what's not to like?

In honor of the charts, I suggest we all try to work Chipotle into our conversations (more than we already do). Start the day off right. When we wake up each morning we should exclaim, "What a great day to Chipotle!" Or alternatively, "The future's so bright I gotta Chipotle!"

January 30, 2014
Traffic jump boosts Chipotle restaurant sales, stock soars


People braved the extreme weather to eat burritos? It's a frickin' polar vortex miracle!



See Also:
Sarcasm Disclaimer

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart #1
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart #2

Long-time reader mab offers the following comment in this post:


In my opinion, this really deserves its own Christmas ship musical tribute!



Sing along! You know the tune!

Out in the Harbor

Out in the harbor, cruise ship ills
In through the dust mask, doctor bills
Down with economies, it destroys
Spreading little bugs, with sick bellboys

Oh, no, no! Who could've known?
Oh, no, no! Who wouldn't groan?
Out in the harbor, sick, sick, sick
In through the dust mask, it's ick, ick, ick

First came the sickness of little Bill
Oh dear God ships make him ill
Gave him a virus to choke and wheeze
One that fevered him to high degrees

Oh, no, no! Who could've known?
Oh, no, no! Who wouldn't groan?
Out in the harbor, sick, sick, sick
In through the dust mask, it's ick, ick, ick

Next came the sickness of little Mitt
Have we ever seen so much vomit?
Here was some fluid for what he lacked
Also a drug some say acts like crack

Oh, no, no! Who could've known?
Oh, no, no! Who wouldn't groan?
Out in the harbor, sick, sick, sick
In through the dust mask, it's ick, ick, ick

No day is complete without at least a little gallows humor. Sigh.

The following chart compares the trillions of dollars the monetary base has grown (in blue) to the trillions of dollars household net worth has grown (in red) since the first quarter of 2009.


Click to enlarge.

Each dollar the Fed spends gets us back ten! Why on earth is the Fed tapering the sure thing? We need even moar leverage! Not less!



Why hasn't anyone else thought of this? Genius!

December 17-18, 2013
Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee


Oops. Please disregard my crazy theory above. It would seem that I was offering the very thing the Fed is most worried about. You have to admit that it seemed like a darned good theory on paper though. I just hadn't factored in any unintended consequences. In my defense, it's really easy to do once I went down the "excessive risk-taking" path (gambling $10.8 trillion on a "sure thing" would definitely qualify).

Marrakesh Night Market



See Also:
Sarcasm Disclaimer

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

Click to enlarge.

It is not adjusted for inflation, population growth, or income inequality.



See Also:
Real Annual Disposable Personal Income per Capita Growth
Employment Hump Déjà Vu (Musical Tribute)

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Personal Income Growth

The following chart shows the natural log of the combined total of religious construction spending, sewage and waste disposal construction spending, and amusement and recreation construction spending all divided by disposable personal income. I am once again using a natural log so that exponential growth (or in this case decay) can be seen as a straight line.


Click to enlarge.

Why religious, sewage and waste disposal, and amusement and recreation construction spending you might ask?

1. We have lost faith.
2. The @#$% is hitting the fan again.
3. We are not amused.



"Bond" is certainly having a good year so far (the last few weeks in particular). Shocking.

The 20-year TIPS is back under 1%. Let's just blame the next 20 years on a few months of cold weather and call it good.

This is not investment advice.

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

Click to enlarge.

Wikipedia: Optimism


Hey! Look! A parabola! Woo-hoo!



See Also:
St. Louis Fed: Japan's Working Age Population
Sarcasm Disclaimer

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

The following chart shows owner occupied housing units.



Jane's Addiction - Mountain Song



Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Owner Occupied Housing Units

The following chart shows real business inventories per capita (December 2013 dollars).


Click to enlarge.



Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart