It sure has been a tricky start to the decade. Starting with the COVID-19 pandemic, various challenges have revealed themselves over the past few years, and now some major industries are currently in a recession for 2024. Although ITR Economics is forecasting general economic growth over the next few years, that does not mean there will not be more challenges to overcome along the way.
Three of the biggest long-term challenges business leaders will continue to face throughout the remainder of this decade are labor, inflation, and interest rates.
Labor
Many industries have been struggling with finding quality talent for their teams and sustaining labor force productivity. In the manufacturing space, for example, labor force productivity has long been a struggle.
Start thinking of ways you can ignite additional productivity per hour of labor. When was the last time you took stock of your existing systems and identified areas of opportunity for improving your ability to produce? Can you improve your efficiency by upgrading your technologies or implementing automation to maximize your output? The more you do to improve your efficiencies throughout the remainder of this decade, the more prepared you will be for the 2030s.
Inflation
Inflation has been another persistent challenge of this decade. However, there are ways you can leverage the inflationary environment to your advantage. This can potentially be done through contractual means, such as locking in some contracts at the end of the year when prices have declined a bit, or when negotiating your own prices.
Interest Rates
Interest rates have been and will continue to be a persistent theme in the 2020s, but we will start to see some dips in interest rates coming in the near term. We expect to see such dips toward the end of this year and early next year.
You can make the most out of this upcoming mild decline in interest rates, which will occur over time, by making some of your core investments once the rates ease. To stay up to date on the Federal Reserve Board’s latest actions, follow our weekly Fed Watch series with ITR Economics CEO and Chief Economist Brian Beaulieu.
By strategically planning to overcome these three challenges, your business will be able to take advantage of the many exciting opportunities in the second half of this decade. Contact us at ITR Economics to learn more about the many ways we can help your business grow and be prepared for the coming depression of the 2030s.
