We might be officially debating now whether artificial intelligence (AI) will kill us all or not. But it’s apparently not killing employment quite yet.

Jobless claims are still at historically low levels according to the latest data, and there’s no real uptick in layoffs either.

The Labor Department recently found that filings for unemployment benefits fell from 207,000 in the last week of August to 206,000 in the first week of September. Likewise, the four-week claims average dipped to 206,000 as well.

That’s both historically low and on the low side for the past year, where claims have wavered between 200,000 and 230,000 a week.

Meanwhile, the economy has been adding an average of 80,000 jobs per month, in part thanks to the whopping (and surprising) 162,000 additions recorded last month. And while that’s nothing compared to the 166,000 average we saw in 2023 and 2024, significant portions of those gains were going to workers born outside of the U.S.

Whereas that trend isn’t nearly so prevalent today.

In a further sign of how strong the economy actually is – despite gas prices being so high – the latest retail sales report came in on Wednesday. According to the Commerce Department, combined in-person and online sales surprised economists by rising 1.1%, excluding gas.

Forecasts had called for a mere 0.5% increase.

People are even going out to eat more despite how discretionary that habit can be. Bars and restaurants saw consumer spending rise 1.2%, while:

  • General merchandise was up 0.7%.

  • Electronics and appliances jumped 1.6%

  • Clothing increased 0.7%/

  • Furniture rose 0.9%.

  • Books were up by 1.2%.

So before you get too negative about how America is shaping up, remember that there are some positive signs still showing.

American Idol takes a southern turn

It’s been 24 seasons since American Idol debuted, and every single one of them have been produced in Los Angeles, California.

But not anymore.

Season 25, it appears, will happen in Atlanta, Georgia, instead. And while co-producers Fremantle and Sony’s 19 Entertainment hadn’t commented on the move at last check, it’s not hard to guess their reasoning.

California Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration has been trying desperately to keep Hollywood business in (or at least around) Hollywood. And it has seen some success by expanding its tax credit program to those businesses.

According to a Wrap article in late July, 170 additional films and TV shows had committed to California production in the previous 12 months. Yet that still didn’t halt “the decline in on-location shooting in Los Angeles as the number of shoot days in the second quarter of 2026 fell 12% year over year.”

Admittedly, it’s hard to beat out Georgia’s 30% tax credit for unscripted and reality TV productions totaling at least $500,000 of in-state spend – which American Idol easily does. But that doesn’t make the loss any less painful on California’s economy.

Don’t forget this is happening during Paramount’s (PSKY) ongoing battle with California State Attorney General Rob Bonta over the attempted acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). Paramount CEO David Ellison has threatened to move his studios to Texas if Bonta doesn’t stop trying to upend the deal.

I guess, in the end, it’s all showbiz drama.

But showbiz drama can pay off immensely for the states that support it.

On the plus side for California…

It’s not 2028 yet. We still have almost two full years before it’s time for the Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

But the committee organizing it is already feeling exceptionally optimistic.

The uncreatively (but accurately) named LA28 Organizing Committee released a report earlier this week showing how the Olympics themselves and the Paralympics along with it could generate up to $40 billion in economic output.

LA28 CEO Reynold Hoover told Politico that he’s “really confident in the numbers.” The way he sees it, “the Games… will be an economic benefit to this region, to the city, [and] to the country.”

If that happens, it would be atypical considering how most host countries actually lose money. And some of them lose out badly.

Three of the worst I could find were Canada’s 1976 summer Games in Montreal, which ran a $1.5 billion deficit. The Athens 2004 Summer Olympics was such a financial debacle that it probably contributed to Greece’s 2010 economic collapse. And Russia in 2014 spent an estimated $39 billion over its initial estimates for the Sochi Winter Olympics.

Yet L.A. says it’s using itself as a model for how to do things right. Its 1984 Summer Olympics, after all, were probably the most financially successful example of how the Games can be run.

Organizers back then relied on existing sports arenas and corporate funding to keep expenses at a minimum. And those efforts literally paid off, giving the city a $232.5 million profit, which would be the equivalent of around $748.6 million today.

Here’s hoping L.A. can pull it off again!

Happy SWAN investing!

Brad Thomas
Editor, The Wide Moat Daily