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After a report claimed that edtech major <keyword id="6630114" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="unacademy" source="Orion">Unacademy</keyword> has laid off employees from its job hiring platform <keyword id="12215842" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="relevel" source="Orion">Relevel</keyword>, the company's Founder and CEO <keyword id="1727930" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="gaurav-munjal" source="Orion">Gaurav Munjal</keyword> said on Wednesday that there were no layoffs. "No layoffs. We have moved some team members to other Businesses of the Group though. Team worked really really hard to ensure that we find a role for everyone," <keyword id="6320" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="munjal" source="Orion">Munjal</keyword> tweeted. A user replied: "That's nice Gaurav. Nice to read this. Compassion towards employees and fitting them in other divisions". MoneyControl first reported that Relevel "halved its team to 700 employees" amid the economic meltdown. Relevel was launched in 2021 by <keyword id="3886063" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="shashank-murali" source="Orion">Shashank Murali</keyword>, Saksham Keshri and Prakash Kumar, on the back of strong traction witnessed in user growth, hiring company partnerships, and placement rate. Last year, Relevel raised $20 million from its parent edtech company Unacademy. In April, Unacademy laid off nearly 600 employees, contractual workers and educators, about 10 per cent of its 6,000-strong workforce across the group. As the funding winter hit edtech startups and unicorns in India, Unacademy founders and management took pay cuts. In an internal email last month, Munjal said that even though the company has more than Rs 2,800 crore in the bank, "we are not efficient at all". "We spend crores on travel for employees and educators. Sometimes it's needed, sometimes it's not. "There are a lot of unnecessary expenses that we do. We must cut all these expenses. We have a strong core business. We must turn profitable asap," the email read. "We will be shutting down certain businesses that have failed to find the product market fit (PMF) like the <keyword id="14425744" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="global-test-prep" source="Orion">Global Test Prep</keyword>," he told the employees. Unacademy last month said that a small fraction of its workforce (2.6 per cent) has been asked to go as part of a performance improvement programme (PIP). Nearly 150 employees (2.6 per cent) from Unacademy's PrepLadder team were laid off. SEE ALSO : <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/syrma-sgs-technology-ipo-last-day-to-subscribe-grey-market-premiums-at-25/articleshow/93625416.cms">Syrma SGS Technology IPO: Last day to subscribe, grey market premiums at ₹25</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/markets-to-open-slightly-lower-on-us-fed-signals-of-more-rates-hikes/articleshow/93628803.cms">Markets to open slightly lower on US Fed signals of more rates hikes</a>

Unacademy founder Gaurav Munjal says its job hiring platform will see no layoffs

<ul><li><keyword id="6630114" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="unacademy">Unacademy</keyword> will acquire 100% stake in the company, providing exit to all of its existing investors.</li><li>Rheo TV founders will join Unacademy’s hiring tests platform <keyword id="11724079" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="relevel">Relevel</keyword> as co-founders.</li><li>Unacademy has acquired nine companies to expand its presence and offering in India.</li></ul>Bengaluru-based edtech unicorn Unacademy on Monday, July 26, announced the acquisition of game streaming platform Rheo TV. As a part of the deal, Unacademy will acquire 100% stake in the company, providing exit to all of its existing investors. The companies did not disclose any financial details of the deal. A unicorn, in startup parlance, is a private firm valued at or more than $1 billion. Post the acquisition, Rheo TV founders Saksham Keshri and Prakash Kumar will join Unacademy’s hiring tests platform -- Relevel -- as cofounders. Notably, Rheo TV will cease to exist post acquisition and the entire team will join Relevel. Rheo TV was founded in August 2019 to make professional game streaming a career option in India, by providing tools to drive engagement and offer monetisation. The company claimed that it had managed to attract more than 5 million users and over 10,000 live streamers within a year of launch. The company’s existing investors include Unacademy’s chief executive Gaurav Munjal, along with other angel investors such as former country head of Google Mobile Mahesh Narayanan and Redbus founder Phanindra Sama, among others. Lightspeed India Partners, Sequoia Capital India’s Surge and AET Fund were investors in the company. Unacademy was founded by Munjal, Hemesh Singh, Roman Saini and Sachin Gupta in 2015. The company claims to have over 50,000 registered educators and over 62 million learners. The company offers courses in 14 Indian languages to learners across 5,000 cities. The company has acquired nine companies over the last few years to expand its presence and offering in India. The Unacademy Group comprises Unacademy, PrepLadder, CodeChef, Graphy and Relevel. It has raised over $380 million from marquee investors like Tiger Global, Dragoneer Investment Group, SoftBank VF2, Facebook, General Atlantic and Sequoia India. Unacademy competes with BYJU’s, which is the highest valued edtech startup in the world. The company, on Monday, announced the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/byjus-is-willing-to-shell-out-10x-of-what-great-learning-earned-during-the-best-year-for-edtech/articleshow/84754613.cms">acquisition of upskilling platform </a>Great Learning and is looking to expand internationally from this year onwards. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/education/news/the-chinese-government-believes-online-education-is-bad-for-students-parents-and-the-society/articleshow/84752031.cms">The Chinese government believes online education is bad for students, parents and the society</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/subscribe-to-glenmark-life-sciences-ipo-because-of-clean-regulatory-history-and-good-track-record-as-per-analysts/articleshow/84748115.cms">One may subscribe to Glenmark Life Sciences IPO because of clean regulatory history, strong promoter backing and good track record, say analysts</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/yes-bank-shares-surge-5-after-it-reports-strong-profit-growth/articleshow/84751116.cms">YES Bank shares surge 5% as investors see a ray of hope after bank reported four fold growth in profit</a>

Unacademy buys RheoTV, whose founders will now lead hiring test platform Relevel

<keyword id="1464841" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="edtech" source="Orion">Edtech</keyword> major <keyword id="6630114" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="unacademy" source="Orion">Unacademy</keyword> has laid off 12 per cent of its workforce or over 350 employees in its latest round of job cuts. Gaurav <keyword id="6320" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="munjal" source="Orion">Munjal</keyword>, co-founder and CEO of Unacademy, announced the latest layoffs in a <keyword id="1815769" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="slack" source="Orion">Slack</keyword> message to employees, reports <keyword id="179988" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="techcrunch" source="Orion">TechCrunch</keyword>. "We have taken every step in the right decision to make our core business profitable, yet it's not enough. We have to go further, we have to go deeper," Munjal was quoted as saying. "Today's reality is a contrast from two years ago when we saw unprecedented growth because of the accelerated adoption of online learning. Today, the global economy is enduring a recession, funding is scarce and running a profitable business is key. We have to adapt to these changes, build and operate in a much leaner manner so we can truly create value for our users and shareholders," he added. Moreover, in a message to employees, Munjal stated that he takes "complete responsibility for the way things have turned out". In November last year, Unacademy laid off 10 per cent of its workforce or nearly 350 employees, as funding winter deepens for the Indian startup ecosystem. Earlier this year, Unacademy-run Relevel laid off 40 employees, or 20 per cent of its workforce, as it shifts its focus from the education business to "tests product" and a new app called NextLevel. Meanwhile, another edtech major BYJU's has laid off a further 15 per cent of its employees from its engineering teams, as the company continues phased layoffs to remain growth-oriented in a global economic meltdown. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/meet-the-tigers-elephants-rabbits-and-turtles-of-the-e-commerce-jungle/articleshow/99109220.cms">Meet the tigers, elephants, rabbits and turtles of the e-commerce jungle</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/how-to-subscribe-verified-blue-tick-on-facebook-and-instagram/articleshow/99108865.cms">Get verified blue tick on Facebook and Instagram now: Here’s how to subscribe and price details</a>

Unacademy lays off 12% of workforce in its latest round of job cuts

As I stood in my newly renovated bathroom, watching water spill over the shower edge and flood the room, I alternated between rage and exhaustion. Even with my untrained eyes, I could tell that the lip of the shower was improperly leveled, which led to water cascading to the floor instead of swirling toward the drain. If it was left unchecked, the long-term water damage would be disastrous.The giant puddle at my feet felt like a watery manifestation of the shoddy workmanship, mounting expenses, and legal battles my husband and I had endured during the renovation of our 1,600-square-foot cottage. What was supposed to be a yearlong $140,000 renovation ballooned into three excruciating years that cost us more than $500,000 — and the work is still not finished.Our story is not unique. Homeowners nationwide have grappled with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/magnolia-network-pulls-show-homeowners-allege-houses-ruined-over-budget-2022-1">similar construction calamities</a> wrought by unreliable and often unscrupulous contractors. The surge in home renovations post-health emergency, fueled by hit TV shows such as "Property Brothers" and "Love It or List It" that make renovations look like a breeze, exacerbated the situation. According to Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies, home-improvement spending skyrocketed from $328 billion in 2019 to $481 billion in 2023. With demand soaring, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/atlanta-general-contractor-housing-construction-boom-2021-3">contractors</a> have been in short supply, granting them an unprecedented amount of power. If they leave projects half done or don't do a good job, opportunities still abound and new clients line up at their doors.In Rhode Island, where my husband and I live, complaints to the Department of Business Regulation surged by 30% from 2019 to 2021, predominantly centered on contractors who accepted payment but failed to complete the contracted work. Between 2021 and 2022, the construction consultancy Arcadis reported a 42% increase in the average value of construction disputes in North America, a historical high. But as my husband and I soon discovered, unless you've made a plan, legal protections for homeowners are close to nonexistent.When our family bought our 130-year-old property in Northern Michigan in September 2020, we thought we'd be moving in by June 2021. We hoped to use the small cottage as a summer getaway and rent it out for the remainder of the year. We planned to gut it, improve the plumbing, electrics, foundation, and windows, and update the bathrooms and kitchen — a project that several contractors told us should take a year, give or take. Things started out well, but by fall 2021, it became apparent that our contractor had no intention of adhering to the agreed-upon timeline. Our descent into renovation purgatory had begun.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-my-home-renovation-taking-forever-supply-chain-labor-shortages-2022-8">Initial delays were blamed on supply-chain shortages</a>, and while those certainly affected the timeline, we later realized our contractor had misled us about when he ordered supplies and ignored our project for months at a time. The delays were the first of many red flags, yet with a home now ripped down to the studs and few alternative options in the cottage's small Michigan town, we felt powerless to change course.<div type="image" title="The Michigan cottage mid renovation" height="2268" width="3024" msid="109753184" hostid="261"></div>As the years passed, the budget tripled, we drained all our savings to make payments, and the planned timeline became a distant memory. We felt like the proverbial frogs in the pot of boiling water. Every time our contractor turned up the temperature, we grimly adjusted to the reality of our demise.We finally demanded to move in during spring 2023. But shortly before, our contractor abruptly requested full payment on all work completed to that date. He threatened to withhold the certificate of occupancy, which is issued by the local government to the building-permit holder and indicates the building is up to code and all the work outlined in the building permit is done, unless we complied. Knowing the cardinal rule of home renovation — never pay in full until the job is over and inspected — we grew suspicious.My husband and a contractor friend immediately flew in to assess the situation and were horrified by what they found: a botched paint job, improperly installed doors, leaky windows, shoddily installed flashing, and exposed pipes sticking out of the front yard. That's not to mention a long punch list left that included installing storm doors and exterior landings, repairing damaged siding, and covering exposed pipes. Worst of all was the shower that transformed our bathroom into a miniature swimming pool. We refused to pay, and after requesting complete documentation and accounting of all the work, we noticed significant budget discrepancies, such as gaps between what a subcontractor had billed (for example, $11,000 for framing) and what our contractor said he paid them ($18,000). The paperwork included notarized "paid in full" lien waivers from our contractor and all the subcontractors — documents that said we had paid everything we owed.So we sought legal recourse, terminated the relationship, and ignored the outstanding balance. Surely, we thought, there must be consumer protections for people in our situation. It seemed like a slam-dunk case: We paid for a service that wasn't finished. A year later, we learned just how few protections existed.The court dismissed the notarized lien waiver as a mere mistake on the contractor's part. The mediator offered trivial solutions to significant problems — "Take a crowbar, rip out the tile, and relevel the bathroom, no big deal. It's a weekend project," he said, as if we hadn't just paid tens of thousands of dollars for our contractor to do just that. The lack of sympathy from the court — and the fact it would cost us double what the contractor was asking for in legal fees to pursue further legal action — pushed us to settle. We paid the contractor the $32,000 he said he was owed, leaving us with an exorbitant legal bill and no closure. While we were able to move in eventually, we remain trapped in a cycle of endless repairs, gathering quotes to rectify the mess left behind by our contractor's poor work.We've learned the hard way that your protection as a consumer largely comes down to what you do before the work even starts. After talking with other homeowners, I discovered just how easy it was to get taken advantage of.Amanda Jane Jones began renovating her Utah home in 2020 with a contractor who came highly recommended by neighbors. Everything went well for the first few months, but then work started to slow down, and subcontractors stopped showing up. Jones had been paying incrementally, which felt safe and responsible. But then her young family's rental home went up for sale, and they had to move out. Desperate to move into the home she owned, Jones wrote her contractor a check for $190,000, which he said was needed to meet their move-in deadline. Then he disappeared. One by one, the subcontractors, who had finished their work months prior and had supposedly been paid by the contractor, began showing up at her door requesting payment.David Jensen, a New Jersey attorney at the firm Greenberg Traurig, told me the first thing you can do to protect yourself is get reliable referrals for a contractor and check that they're licensed and registered as a business. But for Jones, reliable referrals weren't enough. "Once we hired a lawyer and they conducted a background check, it turned out our contractor had gone bankrupt several other times," Jones said. "Each time, he created a new company name with only a slight variation of the first. He'd been to court multiple times, but his license was never taken away."She recommended homeowners hire a lawyer to run a full background check for insurance coverage, complaint history, and litigation records. "He stole over $200,000 from us," Jones said. "We would have been fine if we hadn't written him that last check, but we fell for his trap." Her family was able to move in, but four years on, the house still isn't complete. Because the contractor already had liens against his assets from previous bankruptcies, their lawyer advised against pursuing legal action — there was nothing they stood to gain.Jensen, whose practice is focused on construction-contract negotiation, also cautioned against paying in advance, especially without understanding how those funds would be used. "Many residential contractors want money up front in the form of a deposit, and they won't take the job if you don't put up money," he said. "Try your best to negotiate the deposit down and to get clarity about what it is to be used for."He recommended requesting monthly accounting with detailed line items and progress lien waivers from the contractor and subcontractors. "Often contractors are telling you they need the money for your job, but they are using that capital to finish the job before yours," Jensen said. Accounting for every penny spent is a pain, but knowing where your money is going will save you a lot of pain down the road.That's exactly what Lisa DiAntonio, a homeowner in Andover, Massachusetts, did. Despite completing several home-improvement and renovation projects with her husband over the years, she lacked the confidence to DIY the renovation of her newly purchased 6,500-square-foot home. Their contractor quoted about $1.8 million for the renovation, with $35,000 for demolition. She put down a 10% deposit of $180,000, and the work began in January 2022. DiAntonio noticed that the demo crew would show up for a few days, and then disappear for weeks. Progress seemed slow, and while she was supposed to receive a monthly bill with accounting, nothing arrived for the first several months, despite persistent follow-ups. "April rolls around, and he hands us a bill for $185,000," DiAntonio said. But according to what had been quoted, only about $90,000 worth of work had been done; the demo alone had been billed at three times the amount quoted. "In our contract, any time something was different than the quote, we were supposed to be alerted," she said. But there had been no warning that the demo was going over budget. Seeing the red flags, she immediately fired him. Because he hadn't followed the contract, they were able to make a clean break and have someone else finish the job. When DiAntonio went to transfer the building permit to her name, she discovered that her contractor had failed to obtain a demo permit.Ultimately, a homeowner's best protection is a good contract — something we fell short on. Our contract, a mere one-page document drafted by our contractor, provided minimal safeguards and left us with scant legal recourse. If we did it again, we would include rules for how to handle changes to the project, penalty fees for missed deadlines, and clear costs for each job, including labor and supplies. (We discovered our contractor had outsourced much of the work we had paid for him to do himself, effectively double charging us the contractor fee).Jensen recommended starting with standardized contracts from organizations such as the American Institute of Architects and customizing them to fit your needs. He encouraged including what's called a "right to terminate for convenience" clause, which allows the homeowner to fire their contractor at any time without cause. "At the end of the day, you are at the mercy of your contractor, but this clause is one of the most useful tools I have ever used," Jensen said. "It might not get you your money back or solve all your issues, but it gives you the power to move on from a bad situation."The home-renovation world is a minefield. Each state has different regulations, legal recourse is slim, and competition for contractors is fierce. The best defense is vigilance — do your research, scrutinize, and demand accountability. In the wild west of home renovations, it's every homeowner for themself.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/christine-chitnis">Christine Chitnis</a> is a photographer, journalist, and author who has written for Condé Nast Traveler, Elle, Vogue, The New York Times, and Travel + Leisure.

Everything you shouldn't do during a home renovation

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Rising <keyword id="6356975" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="wages">wages</keyword> aren't contributing to decade-high inflation, <keyword id="1841448" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Fed-chair">Fed Chair</keyword> <keyword id="1727754" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Jerome-Powell">Jerome Powell</keyword> said Wednesday.</li><li>Today's trend is different and healthier than the wage-price spiral of the 1970s, he added.</li><li>The comments echo remarks from President Joe Biden, who's repeatedly praised the jump in worker pay.</li></ul>Wages are rising, but not to a degree that should concern economists, <keyword id="6355253" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="federal-reserve">Federal Reserve</keyword> Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday.The months-long labor shortage has prompted some businesses to raise wages as they scramble to rehire. Average hourly earnings rose at an unusually fast pace through spring, and healthy job creation in sectors with the largest pay bumps suggests the raises are working.Yet the increases have raised some concerns around how higher pay might boost inflation. Price growth hit the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/consumer-price-index-inflation-june-2021-7">fastest pace since April 2008</a> last month, reflecting dire supply shortages and overwhelming demand in the US <keyword id="34412" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="economy">economy</keyword>. Higher pay could further accelerate inflation by lifting consumer spending and leading companies to charge more.Such a process can occur, but it's not what the economy is experiencing today, Powell said in a press conference following the <keyword id="45672" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Fed">Fed</keyword>eral Open Market Committee's July meeting. The US faced a wage-price spiral in the Great Inflation of the 1970s as companies used higher prices to offset rising labor costs. Since wages have steadily risen alongside broader price growth, the current trend is more healthy than concerning, the Fed chair said."Wages moving across the spectrum consistent with inflation and productivity is a good thing," he added.The FOMC elected to hold interest rates near zero and maintain asset purchases of at least $120 billion per month. Powell hinted that participants discussed plans to taper the purchases, but gave little indication of when action would take place.To be sure, the jump in wages is easily outpaced by the inflation uptick. On net, average pay has declined due to broadly higher prices. Minimum wage workers who haven't benefitted from the jump are <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reopening-inflation-minimum-wage-decade-lows-labor-market-pay-growth-2021-6">the poorest they've been in decades</a>.Economists also <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wage-growth-temporary-labor-market-shortage-inflation-outlook-oxford-economics-2021-6">expect the leap in wages to be a one-off</a>. It's unlikely businesses will factor higher inflation into their wage-setting plans for next year, Gregory Daco, chief US economist at Oxford Economics, said in June. The increase is more a "one-time releveling of low wages" than a permanent shift in workers' bargaining power, he added.That hasn't stopped policymakers from cheering the gains so far. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh said earlier in July that the administration isn't worried at all about higher pay adding to inflation."I think steady <keyword id="2372711" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="wage-growth">wage growth</keyword> is good for workers. The one thing that we are not concerned about is … inflation," Walsh told Insider. "We're still in transition, so we're not concerned about that. So I think anytime we can push for higher wages - and the president's been very vocal on this - that's a good thing for people."President Joe Biden made similar remarks in June, saying employers should simply "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-labor-shortage-solution-pay-workers-more-job-market-hiring-2021-6">pay [workers] more!</a>" if they were struggling with the labor shortage. The pay hikes are a result of employees having a stronger bargaining chip now, he added.

Rising wages are doing more good than bad, Fed's Powell says

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The stronger <keyword id="2372711" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="wage-growth">wage growth</keyword> seen through spring is likely a one-time jump, <keyword id="637984" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Oxford-Economics">Oxford Economics</keyword> said.</li><li>The labor shortage gave workers more power, but the shift is temporary, economist <keyword id="1678563" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Gregory-Daco">Gregory Daco</keyword> said.</li><li>Supply-chain issues sparked shortages and <keyword id="22195" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Inflation">inflation</keyword>, which should be sorted as the <keyword id="34412" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="economy">economy</keyword> reopens.</li></ul>Amazon, Under Armour, Chipotle, and McDonald's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/companies-raising-wages-workers-pandemic-hiring-chipotle-costco-target-walmart-2021-5">raised their starting wages</a> through the spring, and in May, overall wage growth <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wages-growth-labor-shortage-jobs-report-may-rehire-unemployment-data-2021-6">accelerated to its fastest rate</a> since the 1980s as businesses scrambled to attract workers.But don't count on it being a revolutionary jump in worker power, at least not according to Oxford Economics, whose chief US economist, Gregory Daco, wrote on Wednesday that the recent wave of wage hikes is most likely a one-off."While lower-paying jobs are getting unprecedented wage growth, we believe this reflects a one-time releveling of low <keyword id="6356975" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="wages">wages</keyword> rather than a permanent shift in workers' bargaining power," he said.It's also unlikely that businesses will factor higher inflation into their 2022 wage-setting plans, Daco added. Unless stronger productivity and higher profits spur a rethink, businesses are likely to stick to the status quo seen before the pandemic, the economist said.More broadly, Daco sees only a 10% to 15% chance that inflation spirals upward and becomes persistently elevated. Faster price growth reflects a series of imbalances between supply and demand, leaving strong consumer spending to drive price hikes. But while businesses' pricing powers sit near record highs, a steady push for higher prices is unlikely to emerge, the economist said.For one, previous instances of above-5% inflation took years to materialize. Estimates of future inflation see price growth cooling over the next few years, and officials have hinted that stronger inflation may fade <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inflation-outlook-temporary-infrastructure-spending-plan-economic-recovery-janet-yellen-2021-5">starting in early 2022</a>.Periods of steadily stronger price growth also rely on multiple factors, Daco said. Inflation averaged 5% through the 1940s because of deficit spending on World War II, a loose monetary policy, and the end of price controls. The high-inflation regime of the 1970s required the politicization of the Federal Reserve, the end of the gold standard in 1971, and oil-price shocks throughout the decade. With the pandemic threat fading and gauges of economic activity returning to their previous norms, it's unlikely enough factors will keep inflation elevated, Daco said.Instead, Americans will likely <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inflation-outlook-americans-spending-used-cars-homes-prices-economic-recovery-2021-6">curb inflation on their own</a>, he added. Soaring prices may cut consumer demand, particularly in sectors such as used cars and housing where inflation is already high. As spending weakens, suppliers may have more time to catch up and better meet consumer demand.Other structural factors, ranging from sustained globalization to a potential surge in productivity, will also help keep a lid on inflation, Daco said. And while the Fed aims to let price growth run hot to generate a stronger labor-market recovery, its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/federal-reserve-interest-rate-projections-fomc-june-inflation-monetary-policy-2021-6">hawkish shift</a> suggests it's ready to act if inflation risks intensify. The recent commentary should further anchor inflation expectations and keep consumers' spending habits in check, the economist added.

Companies such as Amazon, Chipotle, and McDonald's are raising wages. It's likely a one-off boost, Oxford Economics says.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Stronger <keyword id="2372711" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="wage-growth">wage growth</keyword> will likely cool off as the <keyword id="637029" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="labor-shortage">labor shortage</keyword> fades. </li><li>Firms hiked wages to attract workers, but school reopenings and unemployment expiring should push people back to work.</li><li>Ending the pay-growth streak could be critical to avoiding an <keyword id="22195" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Inflation">inflation</keyword> crisis, Goldman Sachs said. </li></ul>Working Americans are enjoying the biggest pay boost in four decades. Experts don't expect it to last long.Wage growth over the last three months hit an annualized rate of 6.6%, the strongest since the early 1980s. Job openings sit at record highs, and the number of job listings mentioning signing bonuses <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/job-listings-incentives-bonuses-doubled-labor-market-shortage-outlook-indeed-2021-6">doubled in the past year</a>. Businesses are clamoring for labor, and workers are reaping the benefit.Much of the pay bump is linked to the nationwide labor shortage. While firms looked to quickly rehire, factors ranging from childcare costs to virus fears kept Americans out of the workforce.Those trends might only boost workers' bargaining power for a few more months. <keyword id="6357342" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Hiring">Hiring</keyword> will accelerate into the fall as schools reopen, vaccination continues, and enhanced unemployment benefits lapse, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told lawmakers in a June 22 hearing.The influx of the supply of new workers is likely to erode the fast pace of wage growth. Pay hikes seen in recent months <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wage-growth-temporary-labor-market-shortage-inflation-outlook-oxford-economics-2021-6">made for an extraordinary shift</a> for low-wage workers, but they are more a "one-time releveling" than a "permanent shift in workers' bargaining power," said Gregory Daco, chief US economist at Oxford Economics.Democrats seem to see the writing on the wall. While President Joe Biden praised rising wages as a "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wage-hikes-labor-market-shortage-positive-hiring-employers-recovery-biden-2021-5">feature</a>" of the economic recovery, he's also urged Congress to pass legislation solidifying workers' right to unionize so that when firms naturally cool their wage hikes, workers can lock in gains made through the spring, Democratic Rep. Andy Levin <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/05/workers-benefits-covid-economy-power-497907">told Politico</a>."I think the gains of workers will be evanescent," he said. "For it to be durable, they're going to have to regain the freedom to form unions and bargain collectively."<h2>Slowing the pay jump keeps inflation at bay</h2>Hitting the brakes on worker pay might be coming at the perfect time. While the pandemic's threat has largely faded, inflation quickly replaced it as the country's largest economic risk. The latest data showed prices climbing at the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pce-inflation-may-price-growth-economic-data-reopening-spending-surge-2021-6">fastest rate since 2008</a> in May as massive demand slammed up against widespread supply bottlenecks.Most economists and government officials see the overshoot as transitory and cooling throughout the year. Yet persistently strong wage growth could turn the temporary inflation permanent. After shelter prices, low-wage sectors like restaurants are the second-clearest contributor to wage-based inflation, Goldman Sachs said in a recent note. Prices at such businesses could be "the canary in the coal mine of wage-push inflation" and serve as a "key cyclical wild card" in the bank's inflation outlook, the team led by Jan Hatzius added.That dynamic might already be at play. Chipotle, McDonald's, and Starbucks <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/companies-raising-wages-workers-pandemic-hiring-chipotle-costco-target-walmart-2021-5">all raised their starting wages</a> in the last year, putting pressure on competitors to do the same or risk losing workers.If that trend turns widespread, rising labor costs could keep inflation elevated longer than expected. For every 1 percentage point that low-end wage growth exceeds its trend, core inflation is projected to rise by 5 to 15 basis points, the Goldman economists said. The effect is only "moderate," they added, but with inflation already trending at decade-highs, an additional push could spark a cycle of higher prices and subsequent wage hikes.

Now may be the time to ask for a raise because soaring pay is temporary

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The first half of 2021 hints at a post-pandemic <keyword id="34412" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="economy">economy</keyword> with permanently higher prices and pay.</li><li>Surging <keyword id="22195" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Inflation">inflation</keyword> should cool, but prices won't return to pre-crisis levels, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday.</li><li>Companies are pressured to keep <keyword id="6356975" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="wages">wages</keyword> elevated as firms compete over a limited supply of workers.</li></ul>Higher pay and prices are sticking around. But don't expect them to keep surging higher.The economic reopening and resulting surge in spending have driven inflation to dizzying highs. Bolstered savings have run up against rampant supply shortages, leading to outsized demand and higher prices.At the same time, the unusual labor shortage has powered extraordinary <keyword id="2372711" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="wage-growth">wage growth</keyword>. Companies struggling to rehire have jacked up starting pay in a bid to attract workers, with the largest raises seen in sectors hit hardest by the pandemic, such as leisure and hospitality. That's resulted in the biggest jump in wages since at least 2001.It's still not enough. The Personal Consumption Expenditures price index - among the country's most closely watched measures of inflation - <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pce-inflation-june-supply-shortages-economic-data-price-growth-recovery-2021-7">rose 0.5% in June</a>, exceeding economist forecasts and placing year-over-year <keyword id="1780117" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="price-growth">price growth</keyword> at its fastest pace since 2008. On a six-month annualized basis, prices are up more than 5%. That more than eclipses the multi-decade high wage growth of roughly 4.3%, essentially leaving Americans with even less purchasing power than they had previously.The trend could hint at a new normal for Americans. The Federal Reserve - which is tasked with keeping inflation in check - has said it expects price growth to cool as supply chains heal and shortages are addressed. Yet Fed Chair Jerome Powell indicated in a Wednesday press conference that, while inflation should prove temporary, it's unlikely prices will revert to pre-pandemic levels."The concept of transitory is really this: It is that the increases will happen. We're not saying they will reverse," he said. "I don't mean that producers are going to take those price increases back. That's not the idea." Instead, it means prices won't continue to grow at the current pace.Similarly, healthier pay growth is also set to stick around. Stimulus support throughout the pandemic left Americans <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/labor-shortage-unemployment-benefits-america-reopening-rethink-work-employment-wages-2021-5">rethinking how much their work was worth</a>, and recent months have seen wage-hike movements emerge in historically low-paying sectors. Major employers including Amazon, McDonald's, and Chipotle <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/companies-raising-wages-workers-pandemic-hiring-chipotle-costco-target-walmart-2021-5">all rolled out higher starting wages</a> throughout spring. Those moves <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-minumum-wage-amazon-salaries-worker-pay-labor-market-shortage-2021-5">stand to raise pay at other businesses</a> as firms compete over workers.The trend has backing from the White House. President Joe Biden praised the wage hikes in a June speech, saying the solution to attracting workers was to simply "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-labor-shortage-solution-pay-workers-more-job-market-hiring-2021-6">pay them more</a>.""This is the employees' bargaining chip now," he added. "[Employers] are going to have to compete and start paying hard-working people a decent wage."Still, some experts believe the pandemic-era wage boost is unique and not the beginning of a long-term shift. The "unprecedented" pay growth seen this year "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wage-growth-temporary-labor-market-shortage-inflation-outlook-oxford-economics-2021-6">reflects a one-time re-leveling of low wages</a>," not a permanent increase in workers' bargaining power, Gregory Daco, chief US economist at Oxford Economics said in June.Economists at Goldman Sachs hold a similar view. Both decade-high inflation and stronger wage growth should subside in the coming months as enhanced unemployment benefits lapse and the outliers lifting inflation gauges cool, the team led by Jan Hatzius said in a note."Ultimately, the biggest question in the overheating debate remains whether US output and employment will rise sharply above potential in the next few years," they added. "Our answer continues to be no."

The last 6 months reveal the new economy: higher salaries, higher prices

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="10657693" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="manny-medina">Manny Medina</keyword> is the CEO of Outreach, an AI-based sales engagement platform. </li><li>He's learned that sacrifices will have to be made, even to parts of your identity, to get ahead of this problem.</li><li>Medina says using <keyword id="2544886" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Imposter-Syndrome">imposter syndrome</keyword> as a positive motivator and building a strong support network has helped him to be more ambitious and assertive as CEO. </li></ul>Last summer, I was <a href="https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?id=972169476154160&amp;story_fbid=29529147247462826282">interviewed</a> by Elias Torres, the cofounder of Drift, about our experiences as Hispanic entrepreneurs in the United States. Afterward, as I chatted with attendees who were thinking of starting companies, I was struck and saddened by the amount of negative self-talk I heard.Many of these talented young people had great ideas, but seemed to have convinced themselves they weren't cut out to be founders."I wouldn't feel comfortable walking into a room of VCs.""I have never done this before. They would never trust someone like me.""Who am I to start a company?"I recount this experience not to be critical, but to say that I get it. I've been there. In fact, I still am some days.<h2>As <keyword id="10657692" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="immigrant-founders">immigrant founders</keyword>, we all share some form of imposter syndrome</h2>I've felt it ever since I left Ecuador to come to college in the US at age 20, and at every step in my journey as cofounder of Outreach. Even though I'm now CEO of a company that's valued at more than $1 billion, is listed on the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/cloud100/#1409d2055f94">Forbes Cloud 100</a>, and employs more than 600 people, I still sometimes worry whether a guy with an accent - who worked in shrimp farms most summers as a kid, and whose grandfather was a Communist organizer - is the right person to take forward the company I love.But here's the good news. While I don't think these thoughts will ever go away completely, I've learned to control them. In fact, I've learned to let them motivate me.Imposter syndrome is defined as <a href="http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/hbsp/hbr/articles/article.jsp?articleID=R0509F&amp;ml_action=get-article&amp;ml_subscriber=trueber=true">a collection of feelings of inadequacy that persist despite demonstrable success</a>. It can happen to anyone, but is particularly common among women, minorities, immigrants - people who may not fit the common norms in a given community.The current political situation in the United States exacerbates this phenomenon. Over and over, I hear the narrative that immigrants are bad for our economy and are stealing jobs that should go to Americans. Former President Trump has repeatedly demonized immigrants from Mexico and Central America as rapists and criminals and "invaders." In fact, last year the Trump Administration put a temporary <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-order-would-temporarily-suspend-new-h-1b-other-visas-11592853371">ban</a> on the H1-B visa program, which is how Outreach has hired several of our most talented, unique, and irreplaceable employees, particularly data scientists and other highly technical people. This problem also extends far beyond official Washington policy. I sometimes feel that kind of resentment from people I meet in daily life, even in progressive places like the Bay Area and Seattle, Outreach's hometown.What can other <keyword id="6422290" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="immigrant">immigrant</keyword> founders - or anyone, for that matter - do to overcome imposter syndrome? Here are a handful of lessons I've learned along the way.<h2>1. Turn it into a positive motivator</h2>Like most thoughts, you can't just destroy imposter syndrome, but you can control it with healthy habits and discipline.Don't hate or judge these thoughts too much - they can even be useful. While they may be misplaced, I think they are related to the paranoia and passion and ambition that many successful people share, and those can all be powerful motivators. They can help you check yourself to make sure you're not drinking your own Kool-Aid. The trick is to never let your thoughts become debilitating. If you find yourself sitting around finding ways to justify why you're a horrible founder, it's time to adjust your mindset.Meditation can help. I started meditating three years ago, and it's given me a mechanism to calm the negative voices in my head. It doesn't silence them, but it lets me observe my own moods and triggers. Am I sad? Am I discouraged? Why? What's triggering those thoughts? Are negative thoughts sapping my energy? Do I need to go for a walk to change my train of thought? Simply becoming aware of your thoughts without judging them is half the battle.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/future-of-coworking-spaces-freelancers-entrepreneurs-self-employed-after-coronavirus-2020-6">What the future of coworking might look like for the self-employed as they seek out ways to network, collaborate, and set up shop</a><h2>2. Give yourself some extra credit</h2>Chances are, you've had to overcome multiple challenges because of your immigrant or minority or gender status. For example, English is my second language, so I actually have to translate everything from Spanish on the fly. When I do math in my head, I do it in Spanish. That means it takes a few microseconds longer for me to answer a question or do a calculation. That's okay. Rather than beat yourself up, consider being proud of your determination to overcome challenges. It's all about perspective.<h2>3. Accept that you'll make sacrifices</h2>Zoom is one of the most successful new companies of the past few years, but its founder, Eric Yuan, has said that he had to work hard to <a href="https://nextbn.ggvc.com/podcast/s1-ep-15-eric-yuan-of-zoom-from-immigrant-to-top-ceo/">overcome</a> his accent. In a <a href="https://nextbn.ggvc.com/podcast/s1-ep-15-eric-yuan-of-zoom-from-immigrant-to-top-ceo/">recent interview</a>, he said, "I do think the language barrier is a factor, seriously. I was born in Shandong province in China, and when I came here I even did not speak the language." If you have an accent, know that some people will judge or have preconceived ideas about you because of it. It isn't fair, but it is sometimes true.I've also paid the price for my accent. For example, after we pitched one venture capital firm, the partner declined to invest because I "wasn't <keyword id="6358815" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="tech">tech</keyword>nical enough," even though I have a masters degree in computer science and Outreach is a technical company at its very core. We've been focused on machine learning advancements since our early days, and 40% of our revenues are invested into engineering. I'm convinced that I just didn't fit into this person's idea of what a tech entrepreneur should be. Did he pass on us because I didn't code the product myself, or because to him I sounded like his gardener?Some of the sacrifices you will make might take you by surprise. I'm reminded of this every time someone says my name. My name is not Manny - it's Manuel. But early in my career, one boss had a hard time remembering my name and decided, "I'll just call you Manny." I love the guy, and I'm sure he didn't mean it to be hurtful. Since then, I've learned to live with it, but I didn't like it at all at the time. I'm not suggesting you put up with all the slights or wrongs you face. I sometimes wonder why I never pushed back to reclaim my given name. But I've learned it's important to pick your battles, and accept the fact that you may lose some en route to achieving more important dreams. Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-optimize-linkedin-profile-resume-recruiters-keywords-advanced-search-boolean-logic">How to optimize your LinkedIn profile using keywords so it's super easy for recruiters to find</a><h2>5. Build a support network</h2>When my company recently passed an important revenue milestone, instead of feeling proud and accomplished, one of my first thoughts was, "How am I possibly going to get this company to the next level? "I started to imagine a host of new fears. For example, when we go public at some time in the future, how will the market respond to me? Will investors think, "Outreach is great, except I'm not sure about that CEO. He's never done this before, and he comes from Ecuador. There are no successful immigrant Latino CEOs in tech." Will having me as the CEO be detrimental to our valuation as a public company?Well, despite the fears, the truth is that I'm pretty good at founding and scaling a company. So rather than spend time bemoaning the unfairness of it all, I decided to put in the extra work to re-level the playing field. Extra work doesn't just mean putting in more hours than the next person. It means being creative about preventing problems that could result from people's conscious or unconscious biases. Soon after cofounding Outreach, I set out to get 200 people in the industry to not just know me, but to respect me - for my ideas, my authentic personality, my vision. Not only did I manage to sell a lot of software to some of these people, but I also earned the trust and friendship of a network of colleagues across the industry, connections that probably saved the company during make-or-break points in our history. I'm repeating this exercise now, this time with fund managers. We've said that we're a year or more from an IPO. But when the time comes, I want these institutional investors to know and understand me, rather than think about my heritage.Whether it's fair or not, imposter syndrome is likely to be part of your life as a minority, immigrant or female founder. It's your choice whether you choose to let it hold you back, or to drive you forward. I encourage the latter. Manny Medina is the founder and CEO of Outreach, an AI-based sales engagement platform. Prior to Outreach, Medina was employee No.3 on Amazon's AWS team and led the Microsoft mobile division from launch to $50 million in annual revenue. He holds an MBA from Harvard and a master of computer science from the University of Pennsylvania. Medina grew up in Ecuador and now lives with his wife and three children in Seattle. Follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/medinism">Twitter</a>.

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