Half-sick workdays are quietly erasing real output

Vitality and RAND Europe reported that U.S. workers lose 63.4 productive days a year to poor health. Only 9.5 of those days come from absence, while 53.9 come from people working but not at full capacity. They estimate poor workforce health costs the U.S. economy $2.33 trillion in lost productivity each year.

An advocacy group report found U.S. electric and gas utilities asked regulators for $4.5 billion in rate increases in the third quarter. The cumulative value of those requests was more than double the amount in the third quarter of 2023.

DoorDash will pay $131.5 million to resolve New York City findings that it failed to pay delivery workers fully or on time and violated the city’s minimum-pay requirements. The settlement will provide more than $115 million to over 260,000 current and former delivery workers.

Walmart recalled nearly 4.5 million Expert Grill brushes sold since January 2021 after U.S. safety officials warned that tiny wire bristles could break off. The bristles can stay on grills or food and may cause serious internal injuries that need surgery if swallowed. The brushes cost between $1 and $28, and Walmart is offering refunds or store credit.

A New York Federal Reserve analysis estimated that tariffs lifted consumer goods prices by 2.9 percentage points. The University of Michigan said consumer expectations for inflation rose for the second straight month, to the highest level since May, based on its October survey.

Clio reported that almost 90% of legal professionals in the U.K. and Ireland now use artificial intelligence. Among firms using it, almost 80% said they can handle more work without increasing resources, while over 70% said it cut costs by taking over administrative work once done by support staff.

CIO Dive reported that demand for IT roles is up from a year ago. Yet only about 1 in 7 IT professionals feel good about the hiring market, citing unrealistic role expectations.