GE Appliances spends $490 million to move washing machine production out of China
A major home appliance brand is moving some production from China to the U.S.
GE Appliances announced Thursday that it will invest $490 million into moving production of some washing machine lines to its largest manufacturing site in Kentucky.
“We are bringing laundry production to our global headquarters in Louisville because manufacturing in the U.S. is fundamental to our ‘zero-distance’ business strategy to make appliances as close as possible to our customers and consumers,” Kevin Nolan, president and CEO of GE Appliances, said in a statement. “This decision is our most recent product reshoring and aligns with the current economic and policy environment.”
The move will add 800 jobs, and the new manufacturing lines will open in 2027, said GE.
Property tax revenue increased 1.1% in the first quarter
The Census Bureau reported a 1.1% quarterly increase in local and state tax revenue in the first quarter.
Tax revenue, including income and sales levies, for state and local governments overall increased by 1.3%. Compared to 2024, property tax revenue was up 5.2%.
Higher property taxes have been a point of frustration for many homeowners and lawmakers. According to the report, state and local governments make most of their revenue from property taxes: 37.8%.
Core inflation increases while consumer spending declines
A report from the Commerce Department showed an inflation reading of 2.7% in May, veering farther away from the Federal Reserve’s goal.
The department’s personal consumption expenditures price index, excluding food and energy, was 0.2% higher than the month prior, and 0.7% away from the Fed’s inflation target. On Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell stood firm against a bipartisan push to cut interest rates at a House committee meeting. Right now, the Fed has determined it needs to stand pat to deal with inflation higher than its 2% target.
Personal income also decreased 0.4% in May from April, with disposable personal income declining by 0.6%, according to the Commerce Department report.
These decreases can be attributed to a reduction in farm income and the dispersal of government social benefits, particularly Social Security payments, the report said. The Social Security Fairness Act reduced or eliminated the benefits of more than 2.8 million people who receive a pension based on work not covered by Social Security (a “non-covered pension”) because they did not pay Social Security taxes.
Jobless claims fall, but overall unemployment remains high
Unemployment claims declined last week, according to a report the Labor Department released Thursday.
Initial jobless claims declined 10,000 from the week of June 21 over the previous week to 236,000. An initial claim is when a person first files for unemployment. The claims are a strong indicator of the economy because they reflect emerging labor market conditions. Weekly jobless claim reports are subject to more volatility than monthly reports.
The Labor Department said the number of people receiving unemployment benefits for the week was the highest since November 2021.