Yesterday was Labor Day, an opportunity to spend some time thinking about the people who make companies work, fire the world’s economic engines, and most likely represent the largest cost on your financial forms.

But what is the true state of employment and workers today? As of July, unemployment was at 4.2%, another data point in a weak year for job growth. Federal data released last week showed that unemployment was higher in metropolitan areas, at 4.6%, with more than half of all U.S. metro areas seeing more people out of work this year than a year ago. And while job losses have been spread throughout industries, the first seven months of 2025 saw more U.S. job cuts than in all of 2024—largely due to steep cuts to federal employment. From January, the month President Donald Trump took office, to the end of July, the federal government cut 292,294 jobs, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Other jobs have been cut as a result of Trump’s sweeping tariffs, which are raising costs to many businesses.

Some people who oppose Trump’s policies—both toward workers and in general—spent Labor Day on the streets at hundreds of “Workers Over Billionaires” demonstrations. The protests, organized by the AFL-CIO and joined by other unions and community organizations, were intended to celebrate the power of people coming together in a union, “to take back our country for working people, not billionaires.” No official estimates of participants have been released, but USA Today wrote that thousands of people showed up at some of the larger rallies.

While many of Trump’s more controversial policies have nothing directly to do with labor, it makes sense that many Americans would rally behind the nation’s workers. Forbes senior contributor Teresa Ghilarducci writes that public support of workers’ unions is at 68%—the fifth straight year that union support is near a level seen in the late 1950s. Unions, which tend to drive higher wages and better working conditions for their members, have been spreading to more workplaces and industries on the heels of successful campaigns last year.

For his part, Trump—who has not supported unions—has neutralized the National Labor Relations Board and ordered federal agencies to cancel collective bargaining rights, Ghilarducci writes. However, some unions are still working to wield their power, such as 3,200 striking workers who assemble military jets at Boeing Defense’s St. Louis-area facilities. These employees have been on strike for almost a month, and it’s not clear when negotiations will resume.

But whatever happens with the current Boeing strike, worker sentiment and union support is likely to continue, regardless of what is happening in the government, Ghilarducci writes. And as not-necessarily-labor-friendly policy continues to flow out of Washington, workers may need to find new ways to ensure their concerns are seen, heard and respected.

The young financial talent shortage has been felt by many companies in recent years, but FP&A platform Pigment’s interim CFO and head of strategy Jay Peir told me it’s a matter of both showing them what a career in finance today can look like and helping them be able to make a difference through technology. An excerpt from our conversation is later in this newsletter.

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ECONOMIC INDICATORS

A truck drives past a stack of shipping containers at the Port Newark Container Terminal in New Jersey.

CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images

Although the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled last week that most of the tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump are illegal, all of them remain in place for the time being to give the administration the chance to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court. The majority court opinion said that the power to impose these tariffs is “vested exclusively in the legislative branch” and a “core Congressional power.” On Truth Social, Trump criticized the court, calling the judges “Highly Partisan.” He said taking away the tariffs that he announced this spring, and many of which took effect last month “would literally destroy the United States of America.”

Inflation, some of which may be driven by tariffs going into effect, ticked up slightly in July, according to figures released last week. The core personal consumption expenditures price index—excluding food and energy costs—was 2.9%, a 0.1% increase from June. The Federal Reserve uses this data to help determine the health of the economy and set interest rates, with a 2% target.

But while inflation was up in July, consumer spending and personal income figures were, too. Spending, adjusted for inflation, was up 0.3% month-over-month, hitting a four-month high. Personal income was up 0.4%.

However, the confidence that the spending and personal income figures appear to project doesn’t seem to be felt by Americans. The University of Michigan’s latest consumer sentiment score dropped to 58.2 last month—below 61.7 in July and well beneath the historical benchmark of 100. Americans expect inflation to reach 4.8% next year, while more than three out of five believe unemployment will get worse over the next year. Survey director Joannne Hsu said in a statement that consumers have “heightened concerns about high prices.”

POLICY + REGULATIONS

Meanwhile, the de minimis tariff loophole slammed shut last week, creating degrees of chaos around the world and U.S. The exemption, which let packages worth less than $800 come into the U.S. duty free, had been exploited by several online retailers. Before the exemption officially ended on Friday, several countries temporarily suspended all package shipments to the U.S. For the next six months, the new tariffs on formerly exempted goods will need to be paid before the package gets to U.S. customs. Postal and package services throughout the world, as well as online retailers shipping goods from other countries, are working to find more clarity on how these payments—which vary based on country of origin and number of items—will be handled.

While the de minimis loophole was instrumental in the rise of super-cheap Chinese retailers Shein and Temu, Forbes senior contributor Joan Verdon writes these are examples of big companies that can work around their impact. Small businesses that rely on international shipping to get goods to sell or operate are the ones that are more likely to suffer. Those doing business on marketplaces including Etsy, eBay, Poshmark and Faire may see immediate impacts. Cofounder and CEO of Crux Analytics Jacob Bennett told Verdon that small businesses that were profitable may now see customs fees that double their costs. Faire and Etsy have both proactively offered their sellers tools to help them get around the new tariffs, but Bennett told Verdon, “There’s this whiplash effect that many, many small business owners are now feeling which is leading to growing uncertainty and concern about how they’re going to continue running their business.”

NOTABLE NEWS

JPMorgan Chase Operations Center in Indianapolis.

getty

The Trump Administration’s push to deregulate industry—and repeal actions taken by former President Joe Biden—could make fintech services more expensive. Since the fintech industry’s early beginnings, startups have needed access to consumers’ bank data to perform different functions, like money transfers and budget recommendations. Big banks used to provide that data for free—and a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule that was finalized last fall under Biden codified that banks could not charge for consumer data, Forbes’ Jeff Kauflin wrote. But last month, Kauflin writes, the CFPB started rewriting that rule, seeking input from banks and fintechs on whether fees should be charged and if there should be a cap.

In late June, JPMorgan Chase proposed fees for the data it has been providing for free, Kauflin writes. There’s been no public amount disclosed for these potential fees, nor has there been an announced effective date (though it may be soon; Chase apparently told those that used its data they would begin charging in 60 days), but it could be deep. A proposal Kauflin reported on in July would charge bank data aggregator Plaid an estimated $300 million in new fees, which is more than 75% of its 2024 revenue.

Kauflin spoke to several fintech CEOs, who say they may raise their prices in response, since they would expect Plaid to raise its prices to account for the new charge. But without details—including how Chase is coming up with the potential fees—it’s hard to do much but prepare for a variety of outcomes.

OFF THE LEDGER
How To Attract Gen Z To Your Finance Department

Pigment interim CFO and head of strategy Jay Peir.

Pigment, Getty

Most everyone in finance has noticed the shortage in young talent. Jay Peir, interim CFO and head of strategy for FP&A platform Pigment, says that it’s partially because of a decades-old perception of finance departments filled with people filling spreadsheets for a living—which isn’t true at most companies today. He told me about some ways that companies can make themselves more interesting and attractive to Gen Z, and help fill the leadership pipeline for its future.

This conversation has been edited for length, clarity and continuity.

What should a company do to get themselves in a place where they can attract young talent to the finance department?

Peir: There’s two parts to it, one of which is redefining the role of finance. Really embracing some of the newer technology, embracing data analytics as a core part of the finance function. There are analytics teams which largely didn’t exist in most companies 15, 20 years ago. Data analytics technology is a way to really elevate the role of finance within an organization.

No. 2 is the role and impact of AI.

The other thing that’s important to keep in mind is how we continue to grow, develop and groom a career path for the newer generation. When I started my career, it was very much more of a hierarchical organization: You spend a few years doing certain functions and then you [advance]. I think for the younger generation, a lot of it is how do we find opportunities to grow and develop in other areas, beyond the core analyst function or specific set of responsibilities to get that growth.

From a culture standpoint, I think the mission and the culture of the company are more important than it used to be for finance professionals 20, 30 years ago.

Bringing in new technology and ways it can be used for different paths of growth for people coming in could change the whole way the corporate finance department is seen and structured. How do you think future finance departments will be structured, based on what’s starting now?

The overall structure of most finance organizations—in terms of accounting operations, FP&A, strategic finance, and at larger organizations investor relations, Treasury tax—I think that overall general structure will be largely the same. I think you’ll see more of an analytics or AI component to the teams as well, whether that’s embedded within each of the different functions, or separately, as part of the finance team. That’s already become much more common, especially going forward.

I think the role’s become in many ways more strategic, especially on the FP&A side. You’re running your budgeting process and your planning process, but there is the importance of the other skill sets: of being business partners, thought leaders, helping to drive strategy and find opportunities to not just drive operational efficiency. Where are the growth levers? How can you help our counterparts—whether they’re in sales, marketing, HR, supply chain or other areas—really make better decisions. That’ll be a big part of the premium and where the value is driven over time.

What advice would you give to a CFO who is trying to figure out where to start to help bring some of these Gen Zers into their organization?

To me, a lot of it really starts from the top—which is defining the role of finance, of how can we as leaders in an organization really change the impact of finance, the perception, the culture of finance—and all of those things percolate down in a number of areas.

But that’s the starting point, whereby the other piece is: How do you bring the right mix of different skill sets and talents? In our recruiting, and what I see across a lot of other companies, is the job descriptions and skill sets for finance are becoming more. You’ve always had to be analytical, numbers-oriented, but I think having analytics, perhaps some data science and broader critical thinking skills, are becoming more and more important in that regard.

COMINGS + GOINGS

Third-party administrator Sedgwick appointed Kalani Reelitz as its new chief financial officer. Reelitz previously worked as chief financial officer at Compass, and he will succeed Henry Lyons in the role, who is retiring.
Semiconductor firm Skyworks announced that Philip Carter has been appointed senior vice president and chief financial officer, effective September 8. Carter joins the company from AMD, where he served as corporate vice president and chief accounting officer.
Banking software provider CSI tapped Michel Jacobs to be its new chief strategy officer. Jacobs, who will drive the company’s enterprise-level strategy, most recently worked as chief sales officer at Technisys.

STRATEGIES + ADVICE

What kind of a financial leader are you? Here are nine CFO archetypes—and it’s likely you embody many of them—that help define all the things that are expected out of modern financial leaders.

Business is never easy, but things are extremely difficult nowadays. Here are five things you can do to keep yourself going through the dark patches.

QUIZ

Last week, billionaire investor Warren Buffett celebrated his birthday. How old is the soon-to-be-stepping-back Oracle of Omaha?

A. 83

B. 89

C. 92

D. 95

See if you got the right answer here.